CBI secures deportation of APS Wealth Ventures accused Rathod from UAE

What the Record Shows

The Central Bureau of Investigation announced on 24 July 2026 that it had secured the deportation from the United Arab Emirates of Avinash Arjun Rathod, the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, in a case the agency described as involving large-scale financial fraud. Per the CBI, Rathod arrived in Mumbai and was taken into custody by a team of the Maharashtra Police. The agency said the return followed sustained engagement by the Ministry of External Affairs and coordination by the Ministry of Home Affairs, and it was announced alongside a separate deportation from Saudi Arabia.

The underlying matter is on the official record. In an order dated 30 July 2025 in Criminal Application (ABA) No. 512 of 2025, the Bombay High Court recorded a complaint that "one Avinash Arjun Rathod and his wife, who run a company named APS Wealth Ventures, along with the present applicants, induced him and other investors to invest money by promising handsome returns", and that instead of receiving those returns "the complainant claims to have lost the invested amount". That case arises from Crime No. 330/2025 registered at Khadan Police Station in Akola district, invoking Sections 406, 420 and 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Two cautions belong at the front. Rathod is an accused, not a convicted person, and a deportation is an immigration act by the host state, not an adjudication of guilt. And the widely cited figures for the scheme come from police accounts of the investigation, not from any court finding.

A first information report and the allegations behind an Interpol notice contain assertions, not findings of guilt; the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

How It Worked

The scheme, as the police describe it and as reflected in the complaints before the courts, was built on the promise of returns. According to the Pune Economic Offences Wing case as reported, APS Wealth Ventures solicited deposits from 2011 with assurances of fixed monthly returns and claims that money invested would roughly double in about 20 months. Investigators have been reported as alleging that early investors were paid from the deposits of later ones, a structure that rewards and drives fresh referrals for as long as new money keeps arriving.

The court records show the allegation in its plainest form. The complainant in the Akola case alleged that he and other investors were induced to part with money by promises of handsome returns and then lost what they had put in, per the order of 30 July 2025. Similar disputes over APS Wealth Ventures LLP's alleged failure to pay principal or interest have come before the Bombay High Court in other applications through 2025, which is consistent with a scheme that stopped meeting redemptions.

The turning point in such cases is when investors seek their money back at scale. Per the investigation as reported, Rathod and his wife left for Dubai in April 2023 as withdrawal demands mounted. That departure is what converted a set of civil-looking non-payment complaints into a criminal investigation with an absconding principal, and ultimately into the Interpol Red Notice on which the UAE acted.

The procedural chronology on the record runs from the FIRs registered across Maharashtra, through anticipatory-bail proceedings for various associates, to the Red Notice and the deportation. In the 30 July 2025 order, the Bombay High Court granted anticipatory bail to six co-applicants on conditions including personal bonds and, for some, weekly attendance at the police station and a bar on intimidating witnesses. None of the allegations has been tested at a trial.

Who Lost Money

The people said to be affected are retail investors in Maharashtra. Per the Pune Economic Offences Wing case as reported, more than 600 investors are identified, among them salaried government employees and professionals, and several are reported to have lost their life savings. Investigators have been reported as putting the confirmed exposure at about Rs 125 crore, with the potential total estimated at up to around Rs 700 crore as more complaints are examined.

Those figures should be read for what they are. They come from police accounts of an ongoing investigation, not from a judicial determination, and the higher number is an estimate of potential exposure rather than a counted loss. What the court record independently establishes is narrower: that at least one complainant alleges he lost the money he invested after being promised returns.

Recovery, at this stage, is not on the public record. The deportation returns the principal accused to the reach of the Indian process; it does not by itself restore any money. What investors ultimately receive, if anything, will depend on the tracing of funds through the bank and demat accounts the agencies say were used, and on any attachment and distribution that follows.

Where It Stands Now

As of the record reviewed for this report, Rathod is in the custody of the Maharashtra Police following his deportation in July 2026, and the matter is at the investigation and pre-trial stage. There is no conviction. The Bombay High Court has been dealing with related anticipatory-bail applications from co-accused and associates, granting bail in the 30 July 2025 order on conditions, while the principal accused was outside the country until his return.

The investigation now proceeds with him available to it. Charges, where framed, and the trial itself are matters for the courts in Maharashtra, and the various FIRs across the state may be consolidated or tried separately as the prosecution decides. The confirmed and estimated figures may move as the Economic Offences Wing completes its work.

A first information report and the allegations behind an Interpol notice contain assertions, not findings of guilt; the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues. The co-accused who have obtained anticipatory bail retain that presumption in full.

What It Means

The pattern in this matter is one that Indian investors meet repeatedly: a private scheme promising fixed monthly returns and a doubling of capital within a short, specific period. Assured, guaranteed returns of that kind are the single most reliable warning sign, because no legitimate market-linked investment can promise them, and a structure that pays early investors from later deposits survives only while fresh money flows in. When redemptions outrun deposits, such schemes stop paying, which is typically when the complaints and the investigation begin.

The protective step is verification before investment, not litigation after loss. An investment firm accepting public deposits or offering securities should be checked against the relevant regulator's register, and a promised return that has no credible source should be treated as the red flag it is. Readers can sanity-check what a realistic lump-sum return looks like with the lump-sum calculator and see how far assured-doubling claims sit from any genuine market outcome. The enforcement archive at /news?cat=enforcement tracks how these cases develop, and the cross-border return pattern is visible in the Nehal Modi extradition matter and the recent return of a Red Notice subject from the UAE.

FAQ

Does this mean Avinash Arjun Rathod is guilty?

No. He has been deported and taken into custody as a person wanted in an investigation. The allegations of inducing investors and misappropriating funds are, per the police and the complaints on record, untested. He has not been convicted, is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

What did the CBI actually do?

The CBI, acting through Interpol channels and with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs, secured his deportation from the UAE. Per its announcement of 24 July 2026, he arrived in Mumbai and was handed to the Maharashtra Police. The underlying case belongs to the Maharashtra police and the Economic Offences Wing.

How much money is involved?

Investigators have been reported as putting the confirmed exposure at about Rs 125 crore from more than 600 investors, with potential total exposure estimated at up to around Rs 700 crore. Those figures come from the police investigation, not from a court finding, and the higher number is an estimate.

What was the scheme alleged to be?

Per the police case as reported, APS Wealth Ventures solicited deposits from 2011 with promises of assured fixed monthly returns and claims that money would roughly double in about 20 months, allegedly paying early investors from later deposits. The Bombay High Court records a complaint that investors were induced by promises of handsome returns and lost their money.

Have investors got their money back?

Not on the public record. The deportation returns the accused to the Indian legal process but does not by itself recover any funds. Any recovery would depend on tracing the money and on attachment and distribution ordered later.

Where can I read the official record?

The Bombay High Court's order of 30 July 2025 in Criminal Application (ABA) No. 512 of 2025, which sets out the complaint and the FIR, is available on Indian Kanoon.

This report is based on the order of the Bombay High Court dated 30 July 2025 in Criminal Application (ABA) No. 512 of 2025 and on the Central Bureau of Investigation's announcement of 24 July 2026 that it secured Avinash Arjun Rathod's deportation from the UAE, reviewed on 3 August 2026.