Rs 300 crore scam: Selva Nadar owes Rs 10 lakh in office rent, pocketed Rs 40 lakh from neighbour days before fleeing
Gullible investors who poured money into Pune-based Ashtavinayak Investment by borrowing from banks are not the only victims of Selva Kumar Nadar, who now stands accused of perpetrating a Rs 300 crore fraud through his ‘loan investment scheme’. The Indian Express has learnt that the absconding investment guru also owes Rs 10 lakh in rent to the lessor who had leased out office space in Nucleus Mall in Pune Camp from where he ran Ashtavinayak Investment and SKN Wealth Creators Private Limited.
Officials with Shree Bal Developers, who have leased four floors of the mall from its owners for sub-leasing to clients, said that Nadar owes them about Rs 10 lakh in rent. According to them, the office space was leased to Nadar at a monthly rent of Rs 1.4 lakh and his contract was valid till October 2023. Nadar’s office in the posh Nucleus Mall seems to have helped him cement his status and win over potential clients’ trust.
Eighth floor of Nucleus Mall where the office of Ashtavinayak Investment is located. (Express Photo by Atikh Rashid)
The officials said he first rented the place in October 2016 on a five-year agreement which ended in October 2021, when a new two-year contract was made.
“His payments have always been erratic but post lockdown it became a problem. His cheques would bounce or he would not pay for months together. When matters became serious, he would come here and convince our bosses and promise that he will make everything right in a few months,” said a staffer. He said that last year after a few of his rent cheques were dishonoured, the firm threatened to approach the police but decided against the move. The last rent payment Nadar had made to the firm was in November 2022 when he partially cleared the pending amount.
“A day before he reportedly disappeared, he had called me and promised that he would clear the pending rent amount. We were not aware about his other dodgy activities, our interest in him was limited to collection of rent for the leased property,” said Vrinda Bal, director of Shree Bal Developers.
Nadar pulled one last trick days before decamping and going incommunicado.
As per sources in the police and Kumar Prithvi Cooperative Housing Society, where the Nadar family has been staying for over a decade, he struck a hurried deal to sell his 3-BHK apartment with a man who stayed in the same building as a tenant. He also collected upwards of Rs 40 lakh from the prospective buyer but fled without completing the sale deed.
There is another flat in the C3 Wing of the same building where the family has stayed for over a decade which is reportedly owned by his mother. This flat is registered as Nadar’s residential address for official purposes and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) stuck a notice on its door summoning Nadar to its office for inquiry. As per residents in the building, the flat has remained shut since February 21-22, when the family seems to have left without notifying anyone.
The flat in the questionable deal (in B1 wing) was reportedly bought by Nadar from the previous owner last year. Nadar had shifted there from the flat he shared with his mother. “He had paid the money for this flat last year and shifted there but had not completed the legal process. In January-February this year, he completed the formalities and got the apartment registered in his name. Immediately after this, he struck a deal with the tenant living on the 11th floor for much less than its worth, collected the cash and decamped without completing the legal process of sale,” said a person in the know.
When contacted, representatives of the housing society said that they have not escaped unscathed either. Nadar owes the society a total of Rs 80,000 for the two flats. “The society maintenance is pending for about 11 months. His payments became erratic since April 2022,” said an official at the society office.
Officials with the Economic Offences Wing of Pune Police, who are investigating this case, could not be contacted for comment. However, it has been learnt that they conducted a detailed search of Nadar’s office in Nucleus Mall on Monday.
