New Delhi/Telengana, 18 February: Thousands of investors in India are facing significant financial losses after being duped in a Ponzi scheme involving Falcon Invoice Discounting, which promised returns of up to 22%. According to police in Telangana, the company collected approximately ₹1,700 crore ($196 million) from nearly 7,000 investors since 2021 but has only repaid about half of the funds.
Telangana police arrested two individuals on Saturday following a formal complaint against Falcon.
The company had claimed to link investors with major brands like Amazon and Britannia, luring them into short-term investments. However, authorities say Falcon used money from new investors to pay returns to earlier ones, while diverting the remaining funds to shell companies.
Ankit Bihani, a jeweler from New Delhi, met with other victims last week to discuss potential legal actions to recover the ₹50 crore they collectively lost. “Most of them got to know about the investing platform through social media and invested in it,” Bihani said.
Despite the ongoing investigation, many victims are uncertain about recovering their funds. “It is my hard-earned money. We don’t know when and how we’ll get it back,” said Roopesh Chauhan, a tech employee who lost ₹1.5 crore.
S. Smriti, an assistant professor who lost ₹30 lakh, echoed these concerns: “The money was all our savings,” she said.
The case brings out a growing trend in India, where fraudulent investment schemes using fake apps, websites, and call centers have been deceiving investors.
Authorities are still searching for Amardeep Kumar, Falcon’s founder and the primary accused.
