EOW carries out searches at premises of IFS in Chennai

CHENNAI: Sleuths from the TN Economics Offences Wing raided as many as 21 places belonging to the directors of International Financial Services (IFS) who allegedly collected deposits from gullible investors to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore promising to return Rs 8,000 per month for every lakh of rupees deposited.

The sleuths carried out searches at 21 places in Chennai, Vellore, Tiruchy, Madurai, and Coimbatore.

International Financial Services is run by three siblings S Lakshminarayanan, S Vedanarayanan and S Janarthanan. The IFS firm also floated a few shell companies and roped in celebrities as their icons to lure investors.

The IFS firm had been running a corporate office in Chennai and the team of EOW CID officials conducted the surprise check at the office and also at the residences of the board of directors of the IFS and Marc firms.

The EOW swung into action after the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu police to register an FIR and probe the alleged Rs 6,000-crore scam by a Vellore-based firm.

Justice N Sathish Kumar passed the interim order on a plea moved by P Karthik, a resident of Chennai, after he complained that he had been cheated by the company.