ED attaches properties of Hello ride company

LUCKNOW: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached one movable and 20 immovable properties worth Rs 5.35 crore belonging to Hello Ride Limited, its directors, presidents, agents and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The properties attached are situated in Prayagraj, Kanpur, and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and are in the form of Agricultural Land and Residential Plots.These properties are registered in the name of M/s Hello Ride Limited, its directors, presidents, agents, group companies, and others.
ED initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by Uttar Pradesh Police in Police Station Vibhuti Kand, Lucknow against Abhay Kumar Kushwaha, Neelam Verma, Nikhil Kushwah, Rajesh Pandey, Shaqeel Ahmad, Ragini Gupta, and Others.
ED investigation also revealed that Abhay Kushwaha along with his associates has generated proceeds of crime by committing offenses under the provisions of PMLA, 2002.
The company launched a bike taxi scheme under the brand Hello Ride, similar to the services provided by aggregators such as Ola and Uber, as per which the company promised to pay Rs 9,585 per month for 12 months on an initial investment of Rs 61,000 per bike.
On the allurement of such a high return on investment, Hello Ride and its directors / agents collected huge deposits from the public. As alleged, the total amount involved in 33 FIRs is Rs 10. 93 crore.
They had purchased these immovable properties between the years 2018 and 2019 by utilizing the proceeds of crime. The properties were purchased at an undervalued price on record, but a huge cash component was also involved in the transactions.
Previously, 28 immovable properties worth Rs 2.38 crore were provisionally attached. The total attachment in this case now stands at Rs 7.73 crore.