On Thursday, 20 June, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the IMA scam raided the head office of IMA Jewels, located in Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar area. SIT sleuths they seized silver ornaments in the raid.
SIT sources say the jewellery store’s shelves were empty and the silver which has been seized needs to be valued to determine its cost.
“There were about 15 to 20 employees at the office. They were here because they wanted to get their original certificates, like marks cards, back. We interviewed them and took information about the workings of the office. We found only silver in the vault. The shelves were empty,” an SIT official said.
Investigators say that Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who is believed to have fled the country following the exposé , is said to have siphoned off the gold and diamonds from the store between 5 June and 8 June.
“Mansoor Khan disappeared on 8 June. He was called in for questioning by the Central Crime Branch on 5 June, where he was grilled for 8 hours. We believe he could have been tipped off about a possible arrest and he fled the country with the gold and other ornaments,” the source said
IMA offered members of the Muslim community ‘halal’ investment options. According to the Sharia law, it is considered ‘haram’ (prohibited) to draw interests (riba) on money. ‘Halal’ options are considered ethical wherein the amount can be invested in trade of commodities accepted under the Islamic law, and a profit is shared with the investors.
When IMA shut down on 10 June, investors were left with two audio clips purported to be suicide notes recorded by Mansoor Khan. However, on 13 June, the SIT learned that he had fled to Dubai with his fourth wife and two children.
The SIT has conducted raids on several of his properties since 10 June and on Monday, 17 June, raided the home of his third wife, Tabassum. They recovered 1.5 kg of gold, Rs 2.5 lakh in cash and laptop from the same.
(The story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished in an arrangement)
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