Two years after Nowhera Sheikh’s arrest, investors are yet to get their money back

Dubai: She was the quintessential Muslim businesswoman — a self-made billionaire who wore a hijab and cared for the group. Spiritual students in India and Pakistan swore by her. ‘Within the Curiosity of All Mankind’, proclaimed her firm’s tagline.

For a whole bunch of 1000’s of households throughout South Asia and huge elements of the Gulf, Dr Nowhera Sheikh — fondly known as ‘Apa’ (Urdu phrase for elder sister) — was a veritable feminine messiah.

She promised and gave such excessive returns (36 per cent yearly) on their investments that monetary wizards would rub their eyes in disbelief. Some 200,000 individuals worldwide trusted her blindly with their cash. However now Nowhera’s fastidiously crafted picture lies in tatters. Two years after her arrest following the collapse of her Heera Group, buyers nonetheless don’t know when they’ll get their a refund, if in any respect.

Within the suburbs of Mira Highway, about 40km from Byculla Jail, lives Syeda Shabnam Khadri, who invested Rs1.6 million (Dh80,000) in Heera Group weeks earlier than it shut down. The cash belonged to her son Sayed Suhel Khadri, the household’s sole breadwinner. “It was our whole life financial savings and I gave it away with out my son’s data within the hope of getting a gentle month-to-month revenue,” Syeda advised Gulf Information over the cellphone on Thursday. “When Suhel discovered it out, he slipped into melancholy. I watched helplessly as our household plunged into monetary despair and my son’s well being began deteriorating. He’d maintain awake all evening worrying about our destiny. On January 9, this yr he suffered a coronary heart assault and died. I didn’t even have the cash to pay his hospital payments. He was my solely son,” she mentioned.

Suhel was 38. Syeda now survives on alms. Just lately she was noticed begging reverse Umrao Hospital the place her son breathed his final.

Nasir Khan, 42, additionally from Mumbai, who misplaced Dh260,000, mentioned he’s shattered. “I’m mired in money owed whereas my youngsters are sitting out of faculty due to unpaid charges,” he rued.

The lives of 1000’s of Center East buyers have been equally thrown into disarray by the abrupt closure of the corporate. When information of Nowhera’s arrest broke, many within the UAE trooped all the way down to the corporate’s workplace in Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai, searching for solutions. It was locked. Visits to the places of work in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah additionally drew a clean.

Enticed by the promise of unusually excessive month-to-month returns, a lot of these individuals had borrowed from banks or mortgage sharks to spend money on varied schemes peddled by the Heera Group of firms. “A Heera agent advised us they’ll make investments my cash in gold and textiles. I took a Dh100,000 private mortgage and wired it to Heera Group. For a few months I received Dh3,000 per thirty days however then the funds dried out,” recalled an Indian expat in Al Ain who didn’t wish to be named. “I’m broke. I misplaced my job lately and haven’t any cash to pay the EMIs. I worry I may very well be arrested for defaulting on mortgage funds,” he mentioned.

Dubai-based banker Muhammad Irfan, 42, and Indian bus driver Shahid Khan, 61, of Sharjah mentioned they misplaced over 70,000 every. “I’m dwelling a nightmare. Each day is a battle,” mentioned Irfan.

A college dropout who began off by serving to her mother and father promote greens, Nowhera professed to have constructed a enterprise empire from scratch inside only a few years. By the early 2010s, Heera Group had a finger in each pie from gold, foreign currency trading, textile and jewelry to bottled water, actual property, electronics and e-commerce. Between them, the businesses employed a workers of over 500 individuals, largely brokers whose main job was to deliver investments.

Flush with money, Nowhera began splurging buyers’ cash on something she fancied. In 2017, she forked out an undisclosed quantity to safe the title sponsorship of the inaugural version of the T10 Cricket League. The event organisers by no means revealed how a lot they had been paid however a discover served to certainly one of them by Indian’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) pegged the quantity at Dh256 million.

In 2017, Nowhera ventured into politics. She launched the All India Mahila Empowerment Celebration (MEP) and contested the 2018 meeting elections from the state of Karnataka by fielding candidates in 175 of the 224 constituencies.

He mentioned he first met Nowhera in Dubai in 2012. Syed’s Phoenix Group of firms, which specialises in filling and packaging equipment, was a participant at a meals and beverage commerce exhibition held in Dubai. “She got here to my stall and began purchasing for costly packaging machines the way in which one would store for groceries. She purchased gear value over Dh300,000 on the spot. In subsequent months, she bought machines value practically 1,000,000 dirhams,” Syed recalled.

He mentioned once they introduced the T10 league, Nowhera provided to be the title sponsor. “We readily agreed as her companies appeared authentic.” Syed mentioned he joined her political occasion as he thought she might deliver change. However once I noticed her splurge cash on Bollywood stars to marketing campaign for her, I grew suspicious. After I questioned the supply of her seemingly infinite wealth and provided to give up, she received offended. Earlier than I might resign, she fired me. I’m glad I’m not related together with her,” he mentioned.

MEP stood no likelihood within the elections. Realising that defeat was a foregone conclusion, Nowhera resorted to trickery and deception. She tried to affect giant sections of illiterate voters by citing a Satellite tv for pc Political Survey (SAS) which claimed that MEP would emerge because the second largest occasion after the votes had been counted. The dodgy company commissioned for the survey mentioned their findings had been based mostly on a satellite tv for pc. For good measure, it even gave the small print of the satellite tv for pc, full with its coordinates. How might a satellite tv for pc predict election outcomes? Nowhera by no means answered.

Now single, the thrice-married lady was nearly as good at thoughts manipulation as she was at Photoshop. In November 2018, a Gulf Information investigation confirmed how she used the picture manipulation device to pretend awards and acquire the belief of buyers. Amongst these honours had been ‘High Enterprise Girl Award’ from Shaikha Hend Faisal Al Qassimi, the ‘Princess of Dubai’ and the ‘Greatest Newcomer Model’ for Heera Foodex on the Gulfood exhibition. On its Fb web page and YouTube channel, Heera Group additionally claimed to have organised the occasion on the Dubai World Commerce Centre. Shaikha Hend Faisal Al Qassimi mentioned she by no means gave any award to Nowhera. “I did certainly meet her as soon as as a result of she was coated in a guide for profitable Indian entrepreneurs … however the image of her standing in addition to me is Photoshopped,” she mentioned.

Nowhera additionally morphed a picture from a 2014 occasion to indicate her receiving a guide from Sushma Swaraj, India’s exterior affairs minister at the moment. Nowhera was current on the launch of The Indian Tremendous 100, a coffee-table guide which contained profiles of 100 entrepreneurs and professionals from India. In truth, she was featured within the guide too. However in contrast to many others, she didn’t obtain the guide from Swaraj.

Following the expose, Hyderabad Police ordered a probe into the doctored footage and filed prices in opposition to Nowhera. In its cost sheet, the police mentioned that Swaraj gave the guide to an Indian man, however Nowhera morphed the photographs to make it seem that it was she who acquired the guide from the minister throughout her go to to the UAE.

Biju Ninan, the writer of The Indian Tremendous 100, earlier advised Gulf Information that he contacted Heera Group’s workplace a number of instances asking them to take away the doctored photographs. “They ignored our requests. It’s clear she morphed the images to hunt mileage,” Ninan mentioned.

Opposite to what it claimed, Heera Group additionally by no means organised Gulfood 2018. It was simply one of many 5,000 exhibitors on the commerce present, which has been an annual function in Dubai for over 20 years now. There was nothing to substantiate one of the best newcomer award declare both.

Nevertheless Nowhera, who makes use of the title ‘Dr’ however is neither medically certified nor has a doctoral diploma, maintains her innocence. Her supporters blame the AIMM occasion for victimising her and framing her in bogus instances. “Owaisi noticed Apa as political rival so he received her arrested. It’s a conspiracy. She has nonetheless not been confirmed responsible,” mentioned certainly one of her supporters. However Hyderabad-based whistle-blower and president of All India Heera Group Victims Affiliation, Shahbaz Ahmad Khan, rubbishes these allegations. “There is no such thing as a conspiracy. Heera Group was operating a Ponzi scheme. Their moneymaking mannequin couldn’t have lasted any longer,” he mentioned in a cellphone interview with Gulf Information earlier this week.

Khan mentioned their investigations present the corporate had no actual enterprise. “Every thing was a sham. The individuals who have filed a number of police complaints in opposition to Nowhera throughout varied states in India and even overseas will not be political activists. They’re bona fide buyers,” he mentioned. Khan has now urged the Indian authorities to order a CBI probe into the matter. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is India’s premiere investigative company. “We’re speaking about billions of {dollars} and practically 1,000,000 devastated lives. Traders based mostly exterior India ought to strategy their missions and demand a CBI investigation as nicely,” he mentioned.

India’s Enforcement Directorate has thus far recognized greater than 160 financial institution accounts throughout India belonging to the Heera Group which ran a community of 15 group firms unfold throughout India and the Center East. In August 2019, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) connected Heera Group’s belongings value about Dh154 million. These included 96 immovable properties positioned in Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh in India, in addition to a number of financial institution accounts.

The federal probe company mentioned Heera Group illegally collected about Dh2.88 billion from round 172,000 buyers after promising them as much as 36 per cent annual returns. It mentioned Heera Group additionally operated as many as 10 financial institution accounts within the UAE and Saudi Arabia the place buyers would deposit cash within the hope of getting enticing returns.

Statistics present that Ponzi scheme victims seldom recuperate their investments and on the uncommon event they do, it’s solely pennies on the greenback.

Advocate Saad Mohammad Salman of Mohamed Salman Advocates and Authorized Consultants earlier advised Gulf Information that UAE-based victims of Heera Group might both lodge a proper police criticism or rent a lawyer to press prison prices in opposition to the corporate.

“Nevertheless, prison prices received’t be sufficient to recuperate the cash. A civil go well with would additionally must be filed. It’s an costly proposition because the claimants must pay a deposit of 6 per cent of the full declare, or the utmost cap of Dh40,000. Additionally they must issue different bills like authorized charges, value of translation and many others,” he mentioned.

Ashish Mehta, founder and managing companion of legislation agency Ashish Mehta & Associates mentioned buyers ought to be sensible when it comes to recovering their investments. “It’s assumed that the individuals invested in a authorized entity and didn’t give cash to a person. If Heera Group is just not licensed by UAE authorities to boost funds from third events and but doing non-regulated enterprise, then it’s unlikely it might have positioned any monetary ensures/deposits with the regulatory physique within the UAE. If that is so, then buyers can’t stake declare for the assure cash. Additionally, if the restricted legal responsibility firm doesn’t have any belongings, then buyers ought to consider whether or not they wish to provoke a civil declare in opposition to the corporate. Traders can also contemplate submitting prison prices in opposition to the workplace bearers of this restricted legal responsibility firm if there are grounds to accuse them of dishonest, fraud and, maybe, breach of belief. Nevertheless this matter must be studied intimately by a authorized practitioner first,” he had mentioned in an earlier interview.

Within the UAE, Heera Group sought investments in three plans:

Heera Gold, which promised month-to-month payouts of Dh3,250 in opposition to a minimal funding of Dh100,000 (lock in interval: one yr), Heera Textiles which assured annual returns of 65-70 per cent in opposition to a minimal deposit of Dh15,000 (lock in interval: two years) and Heera Foodex the place a Dh15,000 (lock in interval: two years) deposit was purported to yield annual earnings of as much as 80 per cent.