Trader, sons dupe Belgian diamond merchant of Rs 3 cr

Napeansea Road resident, three sons nabbed after they sent forged payment-related documents to Indian-origin Belgian merchant, who sent delivery to their company in Surat

Last Saturday, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch arrested Ashok Jogani and his three sons from their plush Napeansea Road flat for allegedly duping a Belgium national of over Rs 3 crore.
The EOW was probing the case acting on a complaint lodged by Kanwal Shah, a partner with M/s Sailam BVBA, a diamond trading company in Belgium.


Smart con: (Clockwise) Ashok Jogani and his sons, Aditya, Vikram
and Hayagriv, allegedly duped a diamond merchant of Rs 3 crore.

In his police complaint (copy available with MiD DAY), Shah has named Jogani and his three sons Hayagriv, Aditya and Vikram of cheating him. Shah alleged that in January 2011 during a visit to the city he met Hayagriv, who told him about his family business in diamond trading. Shah claims Hayagriv also introduced him to his brothers and father Ashok.

Shah said, "According to the deal I struck with them, they asked me to send diamonds from Belgium to their Surat-based company, Helios Jewelry Pvt Ltd, in the last week of January." Shah added that he sent four consignments between January end and the first week of February to Joganis and the consignments were valued at over Rs 3 crore.

Shah claims that the Joganis sent documents pertaining to payment instructions made to their bankers. However, Shah realised he was duped when it was revealed that the documents were forged. Following that, he returned to India and on March 21 filed a complaint with the police. Shah added that the Belgium Embassy was already intimated of the issue in writing on March 27 after the Joganis allegedly threatened him.

Shah's lawyer Manoj Mirchandani said, "My client has been cheated by the Joganis. This episode has led my client to lose faith in trading in the Mumbai diamond market." Meanwhile, the Joganis were produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday where their police remand was extended till May 30.u00a0 Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said, "The police have booked the Joganis for cheating, conspiracy and other violations of the Indian Penal Code."

The Other Side
Abad Ponda, Joganis' lawyer, said, "A false case has been registered. My clients had lodged a complaint way before the complaint filed by Shah. In fact, my clients are the victims as Shah refused to pay them. However, since the matter is sub judice, I refrain from making any comments."