Ten days after the Goodwin Jewellers fraud case came to light, the owners, A M SunilKumar and A M SudheeshKumar, are still absconding. The duo are accused of alleged fraud of over Rs 23 crore, according to police officials. Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered in Pune city as well.

According to police officials at Thane and Navi Mumbai, over 750 complaints for an amount of Rs 16 crore have been received in Thane city, and 239 cases for an amount of Rs 8 crore, have been recorded in Navi Mumbai. According to reports, Pune police has received 89 complaints for monies worth Rs 3.4 crore.

The issue surfaced on October 22 when Goodwin Jewellers shut its shops in multiple locations in Thane. This raised a panic amongst its depositors, who approached the police.

The owners of Goodwin Jewellers have been booked for allegedly duping depositors through a bogus scheme. The two brothers, who hail from Kerala, have been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, for criminal breach of trust and fraud.

A police manhunt for the duo over the past 10 days has not able to trace them. The police have sealed the plush penthouses of the alleged accused, along with multiple shops.

“A lookout notice has been issued against the duo. We had sent a team to Kerala to search their homes there. While the investigation is progressing, so far, there is no trace of the whereabouts of the two alleged accused and their families.”

The promoters of Goodwin Jewellers have so far circulated two WhatsApp messages. In a 1.12-minute-long audio clip, they have promised to repay all their investors, saying they had a “lot of property” and they would repay them even if they had to sell the properties.

In an earlier WhatsApp video message, the owner-brothers of Goodwin said their investors’ money was “safe” and that they had not fled the country.

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