Falcon Ponzi scam of Rs 850 crore busted, Cyberabad police arrest 2 accused

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Cyberabad Police in Hyderabad on Saturday arrested 2 key persons in the Rs 850 crore Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform (FID) Ponzi scam. The arrested accused include Pawan Kumar Odela, Vice President of Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd and Business Head of Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform and Kavya Nalluri, Director of Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd and Falcon Capital Ventures Pvt Ltd.

The main accused Amardeep Kumar (Managing Director, Falcon Capital Ventures Pvt Ltd) Aryan Singh (Chief Operating Officer) and Yogendra Singh (Chief Executive Officer) lured investors by promising high returns ranging from 11% to 22% on unpaid invoices of reputed companies. The investment amount ranged from ₹25,000 to ₹9,00,000, with a maturity period of 45 to 180 days. Due to this attractive offer, 6,979 investors invested a total of ₹1,700 crore, out of which only ₹850 crore was returned, while the remaining amount of ₹850 crore became a victim of fraud.

After the delay in payment in January 2025 and the closure of the office on February 10, angry investors lodged a complaint with the police. Cyberabad police took prompt action and arrested Pawan Kumar Odela and Kavya Nalluri on February 15. The search for other absconding accused including the main accused Amardeep Kumar is on. The police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is trying to trace the accused and recover the investors' money.

The investigation revealed that several companies were set up by misusing investors' funds, including cryptocurrency platforms, multi-level marketing schemes, luxury resorts, private charter services, real estate investments, IT software development, pharmaceuticals and dairy products.

The Cyberabad police have appealed to the public to check the legitimacy of investment schemes promising high returns before investing in them. Investors have been advised to confirm the authenticity of financial companies through regulatory bodies like SEBI and RBI.