Gurugram: Nowhere Shaik, chief of the Heera Group, was has been arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) from Gurugram in connection with an alleged Rs 3,000 crore investment fraud case involving 1.72 lakh investors across the country.
Shaik had been absconding and was allegedly using fake identities and forged documents to evade arrest, the agency claimed. She was taken into custody following a joint operation carried out by the ED and Haryana Police in Gurugram. She was then taken to Hyderabad, as reported by News18.
The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Police had registered FIRs, following which the ED took up the matter. Shaik and her associates allegedly collected over Rs 3,000 crore from investors by promising annual returns of nearly 36 per cent, the ED unearthed during the probe.
The promised returns were never paid back and funds were also collected from NRIs residing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, the agency claimed.
The Heera Group had no genuine business operations and investor money was allegedly diverted into personal accounts before being used to acquire movable and immovable properties, it has been alleged by investigators.
Shaik had allegedly floated 24 companies and operated 182 bank accounts across India. Several foreign bank accounts were also allegedly used during the transactions under investigation, the ED said.
Multiple properties allegedly linked to proceeds of crime were attached by the ED earlier. The auction process of these properties had also begun, following directions from the Supreme Court.
Shaik repeatedly failed to cooperate with the auction proceedings and attempted to obstruct the process, the agency alleged. The Supreme Court took note of her conduct, cancelled her bail and directed her to surrender within a week.
Shaik allegedly remained absconding, despite the Court order, following which a Special PMLA Court in Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant against her on May 7, 2026.
The ED conducted the joint operation with Haryana Police on Thursday based on fresh intelligence inputs and arrested her from Gurugram.
Further investigation in the case is underway, the ED said.
