The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Pune Police has extradited and arrested Avinash Arjun Rathod from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in connection with an ₹88 crore investment fraud. Rathod, director of the Baner-based firm APS Wealth Ventures LLP, was taken into custody at Mumbai International Airport after international legal proceedings were finalized. A Pune court subsequently remanded him to 10 days of police custody for interrogation.
The case dates back to April 20, 2023, when a complaint was registered at Chatushringi Police Station (Crime No. 281/2023). Investigations revealed that Rathod, along with his wife Vishakha Avinash Rathod, allegedly lured numerous investors with promises of exceptionally high returns within a short timeframe. Despite executing formal investment agreements, the accused failed to pay the promised returns or refund the principal amounts. While the initial complainant alone lost over ₹86.37 lakh, the scale of the alleged fraud eventually swelled to nearly ₹88 crore across multiple victims.
Following the FIR—which invoked IPC sections for cheating and breach of trust alongside sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act—the couple absconded. Pune Police issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) in April 2024 and secured a Red Corner Notice, leading to Rathod’s detention by UAE authorities before his formal extradition to India.
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