Bengaluru: Hundreds of panic-stricken investors in Bengaluru-based I Monetary Advisory (IMA) turned up at its office in Shivaji Nagar on Monday morning after its Managing Director Mohammad Mansoor Khan's audio claiming he was committing suicide went viral.
In an audio, allegedly recorded by Mansoor Khan from an undisclosed location and addressed to City Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar, he alleged harassment from Shivaji Nagar MLA R. Roshan Baig and said that he was "committing suicide" as the MLA was threatening him by sending "goons" to his office and house when asked to return Rs 400 crore he had lent him.
"I have put in my 13 years to build IMA Group. But the central and state governments are corrupt and I had paid a lot of bribes to politicians and bureaucrats who otherwise have spread false information about IMA. Our local MLA (Roshan Baig) had taken Rs 400 crore from me and refused to return it. Instead, he sent goons to my office and house to threaten me," Mansoor said in the audio, authenticity of which is yet to be confirmed.
He asked the police to sell off his Rs 500 crore worth property in Bengaluru, 30,000 carat diamonds, gold and silver and pay off his investors. He also said that Roshan Baig owes him Rs 400 crore and BDA Kumar Rs 5 crore.
The audio, which started circulating on Sunday, went viral on Monday, creating panic among thousands of investors who thronged the IMA office which was locked.
According to a source in IMA, the office was closed on account of Eid from June 5 to June 9 and was supposed to open on Monday. When the officials received the audio clip on Sunday, they put up a message in the employee group saying the showroom and the office will remain closed on Monday for security reasons.
The police, who were at the spot as the crowd began to swell, asked people to lodge complaints against the company. By Monday evening, hundreds of complaints were filed against IMA and Mansoor Khan, who is yet to be traced.
Mansoor was last seen on Tuesday, a day before Eid, when he had come to the office to wish his over 200 employees. He left the office after a brief visit only to be stopped by investors outside demanding their returns. Mansoor promised them that the returns would be disbursed after Eid.
It is learnt that IMA has over 10,000 investors from across the country and abroad and the invested amount runs up to Rs 2,000 crore.
