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‘Helicopter brothers’ fly off with Rs 600 crore

Chennai: In Tamil Nadu’s Kumbakonam, two leaders of the BJP’s traders wing have been accused of swindling Rs 600 crore by luring local people with promises of doubling their money.

The Thanjavur district Crime Branch has filed an FIR against the brothers, Mariyur Ramadoss Ganesh and Mariyur Ramadoss Swaminathan, as well as two others under 406, 420 and 120(B) of IPC, in connection with this.

The helicopter brothers Ganesh and Swaminathan, residents of Thiruvarrur, settled in Kumbakonam six years ago and started a dairy business. They were well-known for living life king-size, and get hold of their moniker after Ganesh used his helicopter to shower rose petals on his child on the child’s first birthday in 2019.

Additionally, they operated a financial company named Victory Finance, and in 2019, they registered an aviation company called Arjun Aviation (OPC) Private Limited. Over the last few years, they’ve collected money from people promising a doubled return within a year.

The duo kept their promise initially but things began to go downhill when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. As people who invested in the scheme asked for their money, the brothers cited losses due to the pandemic and said they needed more time to make good on their investment.

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A couple who had invested in the scheme, Jafarullah and Fairaj Bhanu, filed a complaint with Thanjavur SP Deshmukh Sekhar Sanjay, claiming that they had deposited Rs 15 crore in the helicopter brothers’ financial entity. The couple never received their money back and allegedly suffered threats from Ganesh and Swaminathan.

Govindaraj, another investor in the brothers’ scheme, said, ‘I had given Rs 25 lakh after taking loans from friends and family. But after one year, I did not get any return. On demanding return, they [Ganesh and Swaminathan] have been sending thugs to threaten me.’

One of the victims of the helicopter brothers’ get-rich-quick scheme, ACN Rajan, demanded strict action against the accused. ‘I pledged my daughter’s jewelry and received Rs 10 lakh in addition to borrowing Rs 40 lakh from friends and donating Rs 50 lakh to the brothers in the one-year scheme. But I have not only lost principal amount, but also interest. I request that the government takes action so that we can retrieve our money,’ said Rajan.

Posters have been displayed across the district calling for action to be taken against the brothers.

Currently, the duo is absconding. There has been an arrest of a man believed to be a manager of their financial company.

In light of the controversy, Ganesh, who was with the BJP, has been removed from his post.

‘They [Ganesh and Swaminathan] are involved in dairy business and are said to have many international businesses, too. They have been engaged in a lot of suspicious activities, and we demand that they be investigated and dealt with accordingly. There is also need to check on all those who have given money to them to find out if they are involved in hoarding black money,’ said Bala, district secretary Hanuman Sena.

 

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