Authorities in Mumbai have arrested four individuals in connection with a sprawling ₹30 crore scam centred on AI Origin, exposing a Ponzi scheme that exploited false promises of high returns through multi-level marketing and app-based recruitment.
Mumbai police have arrested four people in connection with what investigators say was a sprawling investment fraud centred on AI Origin, also known as Digital Origin, after collecting more than ₹30 crore from the public through a purported ponzi and multi-level marketing operation.
According to the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police, the arrests were made on Thursday and Friday, 13 and 14 August 2026, after complaints that the firm had been taking cash investments while promising steady monthly returns of 5% to 7% without permission from the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Police said the case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act.
Investigators said the company’s directors, including Shrikrishna Pandurang Chavan, Ankush Shantaram Parte and Subhash Yashwant Pandere, were among those involved, along with agents and other associates. The alleged sales pitch ran through a website, WhatsApp groups and in-person seminars across districts in Maharashtra, with advertisements also promising extra returns through a “member joining” system.
Police allege that investors were asked to pay ₹1,500 and were then given access to an app called UPPI, but could withdraw earnings only after recruiting others. For each new participant brought in, the investor was promised ₹3 to ₹5, a structure investigators said would require dozens of recruits before any meaningful payout could be accessed. The company is also accused of taking 60 agents on a paid trip to Thailand to bring in fresh investors.
The Economic Offences Wing said the business had already attracted more than 3,000 investors and had begun expanding beyond Mumbai, with offices reportedly operating in Thane, Palghar, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Sangli and Kolhapur, and agents active in Karnataka and Goa. Police also said branches were due to open in Satara and Solapur on 16 August.
During raids at premises in Vasai West in Palghar, Goregaon East and Malad East in Mumbai, investigators seized ₹12.08 lakh in cash, nine bank passbooks, a BMW, a Verna car and seven laptops and desktops. The inquiry is continuing.
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