The Enforcement Directorate arrested APS Wealth Ventures promoter Avinash Arjun Rathod on November 2, 2026, in an alleged investment fraud involving 587 investors. According to the agency, approximately ₹157 crore was collected through schemes promising assured returns, while nearly ₹89 crore remained unpaid. A Mumbai PMLA court granted ED custody until November 4. Investigators are examining transactions involving linked entities, personal bank accounts and suspected Dubai-based investment operations to trace funds and identify beneficiaries. The allegations remain under investigation.
Rs 89 Crore APS Wealth Ventures Investment Fraud Case Leads to ED Arrest
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested APS Wealth Ventures chief Avinash Arjun Rathod in a case of alleged Rs 89 crore investor fraud involving 587 investors, suspicious fund transfers and suspected Dubai-based investment operations.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Avinash Arjun Rathod, said to be the kingpin of the APS Wealth Ventures investment fraud and its financial transactions.
Rathod was arrested on November 2 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, after an investigation into alleged diversion and laundering of money collected through investment schemes.
A special PMLA court in Mumbai remanded him to agency custody till November 4, to give investigators time to examine transactions and identify other suspected participants.
The case originated from a First Information Report registered by Pune’s Chaturshrungi Police Station against Rathod and others for alleged inducements to invest in APS Wealth Ventures LLP and associated entities.
Allegations that investors were promised guaranteed returns, including monthly profits of about five per cent and repayment of five per cent of the principal over 20 months, are being investigated.
587 Investors and the Scale of the Alleged Financial Fraud
The ED said around 587 investors invested a total of around Rs 157 crore in the scheme. Of this, an alleged amount of about Rs 89 crore was not returned.
The case was later shifted to Pune's Economic Offenses Wing, which probed the alleged investment scheme before the central agency took over the money-laundering probe.
The ED has identified Rathod as the main person controlling APS Wealth Ventures LLP with an approximately 90 per cent ownership stake and in charge of day-to-day operations.
His duties reportedly included making financial decisions, overseeing the firm’s bank accounts and managing its day-to-day business, the agency said.
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APS Wealth Ventures Investment Fraud: ED Traces Financial Transactions
Investigators said the money from investors was routed through a number of bank accounts belonging to APS Wealth Ventures LLP and its related entities, including APS Smart Gain LLP.
A review of bank records and financial dealings reportedly revealed large transfers to and from these accounts as well as transactions with Rathod’s personal bank accounts.
The ED is looking into transfers to different people and investments in securities to determine how the money was spent and who finally profited from the transactions.
The inquiry is also looking at whether money moved between related companies and personal accounts as part of a plan to conceal or launder alleged proceeds of crime.
Dubai Investment Operations Under ED Investigation
The agency is probing allegations that Rathod and his wife had travelled from India to Dubai in April 2023 and that he later offered similar investment schemes in Dubai.
Rathod’s Dubai-based Wealthpro Investment Consultant LLC was the company that allegedly offered the schemes, according to the allegations now under investigation.
The ED is questioning Rathod to reconstruct the entire money trail, to trace the assets allegedly purchased out of the proceeds of crime, and to find out the role of other persons or entities.
Further investigation will focus on identifying beneficiaries, examining financial records, and determining whether additional individuals or organisations were involved in the suspected laundering operations.
The arrest is a further phase of the investigation, but the charges are still under judicial scrutiny and have to be proven by evidence and court proceedings before the competent court.
The outcome of the probe may throw more light on the alleged investor losses, movement of funds and the Dubai-linked operations under scrutiny. Sprouts News will be following the developments in the APS Wealth Ventures investment fraud case, including the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, the financial trail, and further legal proceedings.
