CBI brings back Vishakha Rathod from UAE in APS Wealth Ventures case

The Enforcement Action

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has brought Vishakha Rathod back to India from the United Arab Emirates in connection with an investment case registered in Pune, the agency said in a press release. According to the CBI, she arrived in Pune on 3 August 2026 and was taken into custody, roughly a fortnight after her husband and the firm's director, Avinash Arjun Rathod, was returned from the UAE on 23 July 2026. Both are named in a first information report (FIR) tied to APS Wealth Ventures LLP, a Baner-based limited liability partnership.

The matter concerns allegations that the firm and its promoters collected money from members of the public on the promise of fixed monthly returns and then diverted it. The FIR, registered at Chatushrungi police station in Pune, places the sum at the centre of the case at around Rs 88 crore, although some estimates of the total money collected run higher. The CBI's role here was the international coordination that secured the couple's return: acting as India's National Central Bureau for Interpol, it worked with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs to give effect to Red Notices issued in June 2026.

This is an investigation-stage matter, not a conviction. The return of an accused person under a Red Notice is a procedural step that allows the Indian courts to take up the case; it is not a finding of guilt. The Rathods have not issued any public statement on the allegations, and their earlier attempts to secure anticipatory bail were rejected by the courts before their return.

How the Scheme Worked

According to the case as set out by investigators, APS Wealth Ventures LLP solicited money from the public by promising assured fixed monthly returns of about 5%, with claims that the amount invested would roughly double in around 20 months. Those are the terms the complainants say they were offered when they parted with their money, and on paper they translate to a yield no regulated product can responsibly promise.

Investigators allege that, instead of deploying the funds in the manner promised, the promoters "dishonestly misappropriated investors' money and diverted the proceeds through multiple banks and demat accounts", per the account attributed to the CBI. In substance the case describes the familiar shape of an assured-return collection scheme: early payouts to build confidence, followed by a halt once the inflow of fresh money slowed. One complainant, according to the record, invested Rs 6 lakh in November 2021 and stopped receiving payments after the initial months.

The Pune police first registered the FIR at Chatushrungi police station in April 2023. As part of the investigation, computer hard disks were seized, witness statements were recorded and several bank accounts were frozen. Investigators have indicated that at least a portion of the money, one figure placed at about Rs 15.45 crore, has been traced as diverted, while the broader pool of collections is still being reconstructed.

When the couple left India, the enforcement machinery escalated in stages that are worth setting out in order. A Look Out Circular was issued in April 2024. A special court constituted under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act issued arrest warrants and a public proclamation against the absconding accused. Interpol Red Notices followed in June 2026, and the returns from the UAE were completed in July and August 2026. Each step is a matter of procedure, and none of it, on its own, decides the question of guilt.

The Law Invoked

The case sits primarily within the framework of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, the state law used to pursue collection schemes that take deposits from the public and fail to return them. A dedicated MPID court in Pune has been handling the warrants and proclamations in the matter, which is the standard forum for such cases in Maharashtra and gives depositors a route to recovery separate from the criminal trial.

Alongside the MPID Act, the FIR registered at Chatushrungi police station rests on the general criminal law dealing with cheating and criminal breach of trust. The precise section numbers are those set out in the FIR and the charge documents; because the official press release does not enumerate them, they are not reproduced here rather than supplied from memory.

The instrument that brought the accused home is the Interpol Red Notice, a request to law-enforcement bodies worldwide to locate and provisionally detain a person pending extradition or a similar lawful return. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant and does not establish guilt; it is a coordination tool. The CBI issues and channels such notices in India in its capacity as the national Interpol bureau.

What Happens Next

With both accused now in India, the matter moves into the ordinary criminal process. They will be produced before the competent court, which will decide questions of custody and, in due course, the framing of charges. Bail applications may be made and contested; the couple's earlier anticipatory bail pleas were rejected, but that does not foreclose regular bail once they are before the trial court.

If and when the investigating agency files its charge documents, the court will consider whether to take cognizance, after which a trial can begin. At every stage the burden rests on the prosecution to prove its case, and the accused are entitled to test the evidence against them. A chargesheet, an FIR or an Interpol Red Notice contains allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

For depositors, the MPID framework provides a parallel track. Property attached under the Act can, on the court's direction, be marshalled towards repaying those who lost money. That process runs through the MPID court and turns on tracing and valuing assets, which is distinct from the question of criminal guilt decided at trial.

What It Means

For ordinary investors, the case is a reminder of how a familiar promise, a fixed and unusually high monthly return with a near-guaranteed doubling of capital, maps onto a pattern that regulators and police see again and again. No genuine, regulated investment guarantees 5% a month. Returns of that order, described as assured, are among the most reliable warning signs of a collection scheme that depends on new money to pay old investors.

There is a concrete check anyone can run before committing funds. Entities that raise money from the public to manage or grow it are, depending on the product, required to be registered with SEBI (for portfolio managers, investment advisers and collective investment schemes), the RBI (for deposit-taking NBFCs) or IRDAI (for insurance). These registers are public and searchable on the regulators' own websites. An LLP offering assured returns without any such registration is operating outside the regulated perimeter, and money placed there carries no supervisory protection and no depositor guarantee.

The other lesson is procedural. Leaving the country does not close a case. The Look Out Circular, the MPID proclamation and the Interpol Red Notice together show an enforcement chain designed to follow money and people across borders, even where it takes years to complete.

FAQ

Does this mean the accused have been convicted?

No. A chargesheet, an FIR or an Interpol Red Notice contains allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues. Vishakha Rathod and Avinash Rathod have been returned to India to face the case, but the allegations against them have yet to be tested and decided by a court.

What exactly did the CBI do here?

Acting as India's Interpol bureau, the CBI coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs to give effect to Interpol Red Notices and secure the return of the two accused from the UAE, Avinash Rathod on 23 July 2026 and Vishakha Rathod on 3 August 2026. The underlying FIR was registered by the Pune police.

What is APS Wealth Ventures accused of?

Per the case, the Baner-based LLP is alleged to have collected money from investors by promising assured monthly returns of about 5% and a doubling of capital in roughly 20 months, and then to have diverted the funds through multiple bank and demat accounts. The FIR places the amount at around Rs 88 crore.

How can I check whether an investment scheme is genuine?

Verify registration before you invest. SEBI lists registered investment advisers, portfolio managers and collective investment schemes; the RBI lists NBFCs permitted to accept deposits; IRDAI lists insurers. All three registers are free and public. Any promise of a fixed, high monthly return with guaranteed doubling should be treated as a warning sign, not a selling point.

What can affected investors do?

Depositors can pursue recovery through the MPID court, which can direct that attached assets be applied towards repaying those who lost money. Complainants should make sure their claims and documentation are on record with the investigating agency and the court handling the matter.

Where can I read the official record?

The CBI's press release on the return of the accused is published on its official website. The link appears in the source note below.

This report is based on the official CBI press release on the return of the accused. It was surfaced via enforcement coverage aggregated on Google News and reported by Moneylife.