ED Shillong attaches Rs 17.91 crore assets in Pearlvine Ponzi Scam

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Shillong Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 17.91 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a large-scale fraudulent investment scheme linked to the website www.pearlvine.com, operating under the banner of Pearlvine International. The attachment, carried out on December 10, 2025, comprises 13 immovable and seven movable properties, including luxury cars allegedly acquired from the proceeds of crime.

The ED initiated the investigation following an FIR registered by the CID, Meghalaya Police, based on a complaint lodged by the Reserve Bank of India, Shillong, and a chargesheet filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. The probe revealed that Pearlvine International was an unrecognized entity falsely claiming to be US-based and had operated a Ponzi scheme in India from 2018 until March 2023. The entity offered multiple lucrative investment options, collected a minimum membership fee of Rs 2,250, and aggressively expanded its network by organizing seminars across the country. At its peak in 2022, the company claimed a membership of nearly 80 lakh members in India and abroad.

According to the ED, Pearlvine International collected at least Rs 1,575 crore from investors, out of which at least Rs 395.35 crore was not returned. The investigation established that Neeraj Kumar Gupta was the key person behind the scam and had purchased the domain www.pearlvine.com in November 2015. He also conducted several promotional seminars for Pearlvine International in India as well as in Thailand.

With the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached by the ED in the case has reached Rs 54.98 crore, including an earlier attachment of Rs 37.07 crore, while further investigation remains underway.

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