Court refuses bail to Bliss Consultants owner in multi-crore cheating case

MUMBAI: A special court last week rejected the bail plea of Ashesh Shailesh Mehta, the owner of stockbroking firm Bliss Consultants, arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) last year along with his wife in a multi-crore cheating case.

The Goregaon East-based couple allegedly duped multiple investors by promising them glossy returns if they invested in their firm using their newly launched application called DIFM. Former MLA and Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hegde was among the many investors who filed a complaint against the firm, alleging fraud worth ₹85.17 crore.

Additional sessions judge NP Mehta, while rejecting the bail, observed that there is little guarantee that the accused would settle all dues with the investors if released on bail. After the accused failed to return the principal amount or promised profits, the investors lodged a complaint with the Amboli police station. Mehta and his partner were booked under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing persons), section 406 (criminal breach of trust), and under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act 1999.

The Mehtas had promised the investors a return of 3% to 4% per month on the invested money by asking them to open an account on their DIFM trading app. However, the money was siphoned off and misappropriated by Mehta, said the prosecution complaint. After the EOW took over the investigation, they attached properties of the accused worth ₹171.49 crore.

Mehta, represented by advocate Abad Ponda, submitted that they were unable to return the investments due to fraud committed by Denron company. The defence alleged that due to an arbitration process related to Denron, the Kotak Mahindra bank account of Bliss Consultants was put under the debit freeze, due to which they could not make the promised returns to the investors. They also filed an undertaking that once Mehta is released on bail, they would fight the dispute with Denron, unfreeze their Kotak account, and settle the disputes with the investors.

The court observed that it has a duty to prioritise the interests of depositors while hearing the bail plea of the accused. However, it noted that there is no guarantee that Mehta would settle the disputes with Denron even if he is released on bail. The court stated, “The money available with the applicant in the Kotak Mahindra Bank is not secured. Therefore, there is a distant possibility of deposits being returned to investors upon the applicant’s release on bail.”