Days after Dubai-based businessman Ravindra Nath Soni was arrested for allegedly duping Rs 970 crore from hundreds of investors in the UAE and India, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood and WWE wrestler The Great Khali alias Dalip Singh Rana were summoned by police.
The investigation is being carried by a Special Investigative Team formed by Kanpur police issued notices to Sood and Khali on Tuesday in order record their statements.
Sood said he will fully cooperate with the investigators but clarfied that he did not invest in BlueChip. "They still owe me money for an appearance, so I am also a victim," Khaleej Times quoted the actor as saying.
When the accused Ravindra Nath Sono launched the BlueChip Token at a Dubai five-star hotel in July 2022, Sood, The Great Khali and former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin were chief guests.
According to the investigators, they are trying to find out if any of the celebrities formally endorsed BlueChip, signed contracts or got involved in any manner with the company financially.
Soni is also wanted in Dubai and left the UAE more than a year ago. He was hiding in Dehradun and was tracked down by Kanpur police through a food delivery order. He was later remanded in judicial custody.
He ran BlueChip from an office in Bur Dubai and offered 3 per cent monthly returns under the guise of forex trading. Though he gained trust of investors with timely payouts, they were shocked after the company premises were found abandoned in March 2024.
The investigators had earlier frozen 10 of his bank accounts and collected evidence from his financial documents, passport entries and digital transactions.
One of the cases against Soni was registered in the UAE. Most of his victims were Indian expats who are working in the UAE. The complainants include those from Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
