Bhubaneswar, Dec 16: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police has arrested a couple from Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly cheating hundreds of investors of more than Rs 20 crore through fraudulent share trading and investment schemes.

The accused have been identified as Chandra Sekhar Sahoo and his wife Jharana Sahoo, natives of Anandapur area in Keonjhar district. They were apprehended in Greater Noida and brought to Odisha on transit remand. The couple was produced before the designated OPID Act court in Cuttack.

According to the EOW, the case was registered following a complaint filed by an MCL employee from Talcher against Chandra Sekhar Sahoo, Managing Director of M/s Evoreach Ventures Pvt Ltd, and other directors of the company. The accused allegedly lured investors by offering attractive schemes promising to double their investment within 30 months.

The company initially operated from Handidhua in Talcher and later opened another office at Patia in Bhubaneswar. Both Chandra Sekhar and Jharana Sahoo were directors of the firm. The complainant and his wife reportedly invested over Rs 1.05 crore between February 2022 and February 2024 after being induced by the accused.

Investigators revealed that the accused also collected funds in the name of share trading through platforms such as Octa FX and other trading companies. Investors were told that their money would be reinvested in businesses including real estate, retail marts, pearl culture, fish farming and hotel ventures. The collected funds were deposited in the company’s accounts as well as in the personal bank accounts of the directors.

To gain investors’ confidence, the accused allegedly distributed colourful brochures highlighting lucrative schemes and issued certificates and bonds fraudulently. After paying returns to some investors for a few months, the accused abruptly shut down their offices in Talcher and Bhubaneswar and went absconding.

Further investigation revealed that Chandra Sekhar Sahoo had earlier worked as a chartered accountant with MCL, Talcher, before resigning and setting up Evoreach Ventures Pvt Ltd in 2021, where he served as Managing Director. He later converted the firm from a private limited to a public limited company and illegally floated several unregulated deposit schemes promising high monthly returns.

EOW officials said a large number of investors from Odisha as well as from Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi were duped through these schemes. Apart from Evoreach Ventures Pvt Ltd, the accused also allegedly mobilised funds through other entities, including Stolax India Pvt Ltd and Evoreach Nidhi Ltd.

During the investigation, several incriminating materials such as fake agreements, term deposit receipts of different companies, brochures detailing the schemes and mobile phones have been seized. The investigation is continuing, EOW added.