Rs 100-cr money chain fraud: Highrich owners flee ED raid in Thrissur

Thrissur: The owners of the online network marketing company Highrich, which is under the scanner for allegedly running a pyramid-scheme-based multilevel marketing chain, fled their home moments before officials from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrived for a raid.

Thrissur Cherpu native K D Prathapan, who is the MD of Highrich, and his wife Sreena Prathapan, who is the company CEO, along with their driver Sharan, fled their home on Tuesday morning. ED officials reached their house for inspection around 10.30 am. Though the couple left the house, ED sleuths continued with the inspection. The officials sought the police's help to trace the trio.

The complaint against the couple is that they laundered Rs 100 crore abroad through hawala transactions. Former Vadakkencherry MLA and Congress leader Anil Akkara filed the case against them. As per the complaint, they collected crores of rupees from around 1.5 lakh investors. The district additional session's court also had instructed to register a case against the couple based on the complaints filed by investors.

As per reports, the Thrissur-based company has committed fraud of over Rs 1,600 crore. According to a police report, Highrich Online Shoppe Pvt Ltd has been running a money chain scheme under the guise of online shopping. The Income Tax department is also probing a GST fraud of Rs 126 crore against Prathapan and Sreena.

There are also reports that the couple fled their home after learning about the raid. Anil Akkara has alleged that it is Cherpu police who leaked the information to the culprits. He also accused the police of acting in tandem with the accused in the case.