Mumbai: The Economics Offences Wing of Mumbai Police (EOW) has initiated an investigation into an alleged Rs 68-crore fraud within the family-run Rizvi Estates and Hotels Pvt Ltd on a complaint filed by builder Akhtar Hasan Rizvi (83) against his former wife Meena, daughter Reshma and several associates.Rizvi claimed that the accused conspired to forge documents and fraudulently transfer his shares in their names. Bandra police on Saturday registered a case of cheating, forgery, breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as the alleged fraud took place between 2010 and 2017.In addition to Meena and Reshma, Rizvi has accused chartered accountant Stanislaus Mark Lasardo, accountant Ganapathy Raya Hegde, secretary Rupesh Mahadeshwar, and Javed Hasan Rizvi, a relative, of aiding the conspiracy by misusing his digital signature, falsifying income-tax filings, and making fake entries in company records.In his police complaint, Rizvi, who founded the family-run real estate and hospitality firm, claimed that until 2017, the company owned 17,760 shares, with the present value of each share estimated at Rs 1.04 lakh, placing the company’s valuation at Rs 235 crore. He said he held a controlling majority of 14,591 shares (82.2%), with the balance held by his sons Abis and Saqib, Meena and Reshma.Following the deaths of his two sons in 2010 and 2017, respectively, Rizvi’s shareholding was to rise to 10,067 shares after various transfer agreements, wills, and settlements. However, in 2022, Rizvi found that his holding had been drastically reduced to just 3,583 shares or 20.2%, while Reshma and Meena together controlled over 8,100 shares.Upon further inquiry, he obtained copies of two unregistered “gift deeds” dated Jan 25, 2017, allegedly prepared by Reshma and Meena, under which 4,520 shares were transferred to his daughter and 753 to his former wife.Rizvi claimed that his signatures were forged on both the deeds.In his complaint, Rizvi alleged that a total of 6,484 shares worth nearly Rs 68.1 crore were fraudulently transferred to Reshma and Meena. He has sought strict legal action against all six accused for criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating, and misappropriation of assets.
