Govinda’s manager clarifies on reports of actor’s Rs 1,000 crore online ponzi scam

MUMBAI,SEPT 15 : On September 13, the Odisha Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said they will question Govinda in connection with a Rs 1,000 crore pan-India Online Ponzi Scam probe. The authorities said that the Solar Techno Alliance (STA-Token) with an online presence in several countries was illegally operating a pyramid-structured under the scam in the garb of crypto investment. It was being reported that Govinda endorsed the company’s operations in the promotional videos, hence he would be questioned. Govinda’s manager has now reacted to the reports, calling them misleading.

Govinda’s name has been highlighted to be questioned by EOW in the Online Ponzi Scam. The actor had reportedly endorsed the company’s operations in a few promotional videos.

However, Govinda’s manager, Shashi Sinha, has now given clarification on the whole row to ETimes. He said that ‘half baked news has been circulated in the media’ and that the actor has got nothing to do with it.

Sinha said, “Govinda has not nothing to do with the case. Govinda had gone through an agency for an event and returned we have nothing to do with the business or branding of it. All half baked news has been published in the media.”

Sasmita Sahu, DSP EOW Bhubaneswar had said, “After receiving intelligence from higher courts we have started the investigations against STA, as per the allegation the STA has launched its own token, named STA token, and which has been promoted at the local level in bhadrak as a ponzi scheme or multi-level marketing scheme in which people are asked to join STA by adding members under them, so the allegations said it’s a chain system in which members get benefits and get lucrative returns on adding new members in their down line.”

He added, “The initial inquiry was conducted by EOW Bhubaneswar and the allegations proved to be true. Mr. Nirodh kumar das of bhadrak as the odisha head of STA and he has added more than 5/6 thousand members in the name of STA making an office in bhadtak. He conducts meetings to induce members to be part of STA to motivate them. The company’s country and Odisha heads, Gurtej Singh Sidhu and Nirod Das, respectively, were arrested on August 7. Ratnakar Palai, an important and up-line member of STA having huge number of members below him (known as down-line members in the MLM/pyramid-based schemes/scams), was nabbed on August 16.”

“The company also offered an incentive to members to build the networks, sources said. During the investigation, we came to know that they were conducting a mega event to where Bollywood star Govinda was invited as a chief guest on 30th of July 2023. A team of EOW left for Goa where the event took place. We are trying to contact the people who are somehow connected in the STS and as Govind has been invited there as a chief guest we want to take his view on it. And who the person has contacted him for the mega event. Then we could be able to get more information from him” Sahu added.

As per reports, under the scam, they took lakhs of money in deposits from investors in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand and other states.

-The India Today