ED auctions seized jet in Falcon invoice-discounting PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate has put a seized business jet up for auction in the Falcon Invoice Discounting matter, a case in which the agency alleges retail investors were duped of Rs 792 crore through a bogus fixed-return scheme.

What the Record Shows

The Enforcement Directorate's Hyderabad Zonal Office has put a seized Hawker 800A aircraft, registration N935H, up for auction through MSTC Limited, with the sale scheduled for 9 December 2025 and the proceeds earmarked for restitution to victims, per the agency's press release dated 2 December 2025. The aircraft, parked at Begumpet Airport, was made available for inspection until 7 December 2025.

According to the release, the ED seized the aircraft from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport during a search on 7 March 2025 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in a case against Amardeep Kumar, Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd and others. The agency says it began its investigation on the basis of FIR Nos. 10/2025, 11/2025 and 12/2025, all dated 11 February 2025, registered by the Economic Offence Wing, Cyberabad against the Falcon Group (Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd) and its CMD Amardeep Kumar for defrauding investors in what it describes as a bogus invoice-discounting scheme.

The ED alleges that Amardeep Kumar launched the scheme under the name Falcon Invoice Discounting and duped investors of Rs 792 crore, and states that he fled the country in the same aircraft before the FIRs were registered and is presently absconding abroad. No response from any of the named individuals is recorded in the release.

How It Worked

Per the ED, Falcon Invoice Discounting was marketed as an invoice-discounting product, under which investors were told their money would fund the discounting of corporate invoices in return for fixed, high yields. The agency's account frames it as an app-marketed scheme carrying the look of a regulated fixed-income offering, the kind of bond-like return that appeals to savers seeking steady income rather than market risk.

The ED alleges that the scheme was in substance bogus. Investigation revealed, the agency says, that investors were duped of Rs 792 crore of their hard-earned money. The release does not set out a genuine invoice-discounting business behind the promised returns; it characterises the scheme as one for defrauding investors.

On the movement of money, the release documents one use of funds in detail: the ED states that the impugned aircraft was purchased by Amardeep Kumar in 2024 for USD 1.6 million, and that he left the country in it before the FIRs were registered. During the investigation, the agency says, it provisionally attached properties worth Rs 18.63 crore and arrested three accused: Sandeep Kumar, described as the brother of Amardeep Kumar; Sharad Chandra Toshniwal, a chartered accountant; and Aryan Singh Chhabra, the COO of Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd. A prosecution complaint was filed before the Special PMLA Court, Rangareddy on 29 September 2025. The procedural chain the record shows runs from the three EOW FIRs of February 2025, through the aircraft seizure in March, the arrests and attachment, confirmation by the Adjudicating Authority, and the prosecution complaint, to this auction step.

Who Lost Money

The ED describes those affected as "gullible investors" defrauded of Rs 792 crore. The 2 December 2025 release does not give a headcount, so the number of individual investors is not stated in the record. The scheme, on the agency's account, was pitched at savers looking for a bond-like yield and reached through the promise of fixed high returns, which points to retail investors rather than institutions.

Against the Rs 792 crore the ED alleges was taken, the agency says it has provisionally attached properties worth Rs 18.63 crore and seized the aircraft, originally bought for USD 1.6 million. The gap between the sum alleged to have been raised and the assets traced so far is large, and the agency notes that further investigation is under way.

The auction matters to victims because, per the release, the proceeds from the sale of the aircraft are to be used eventually for their restitution. That is a mechanism for returning value, not a payment already made; any distribution would follow the sale and the later stages of the case.

Where It Stands Now

As of this writing, the case is at the trial stage, with one accused abroad. The ED's release states that it filed a prosecution complaint before the Special PMLA Court, Rangareddy on 29 September 2025, that three accused have been arrested, and that Amardeep Kumar is presently absconding abroad. Further investigation, the agency says, is under progress.

On the aircraft, the record shows the attachment has moved through the statutory process. The ED filed an original application before the Adjudicating Authority, PMLA, which confirmed the attachment by order dated 18 August 2025. The agency then applied under Rule 4(2) of the 2013 rules on taking possession of confirmed attached property, which permits sale where a property is subject to speedy decay or where maintenance costs are likely to exceed its value, and the Adjudicating Authority allowed the auction by order dated 20 November 2025. The auction itself was scheduled for 9 December 2025; whether it has since concluded and what it realised are not established in the release relied on here.

Because the matter is pre-conviction, the presumption of innocence applies to everyone named. A prosecution complaint contains allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues.

What It Means

The Falcon matter shows how an ordinary-sounding fixed-income label can carry an extraordinary promise. "Invoice discounting" is a real business, which is part of why, on the ED's account, the scheme could pass for a regulated product while paying yields no genuine discounting book could sustain. The tell was the same as ever: a fixed, high return marketed to the public through an app.

The practical protection is to separate the pitch from the paperwork. A genuine fixed-income intermediary is registered, and any scheme promising assured high returns can be checked against the registers of SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India before money leaves your account; one that cannot be traced to a registration deserves caution. Testing an advertised yield against what a realistic return actually looks like is a simple discipline, and a plain lumpsum calculator makes the contrast between a plausible and an implausible promise easy to see.

For those already affected, the case is also a study in how recovery works: assets are seized and attached, confirmed through the Adjudicating Authority, and only then sold, with proceeds directed to restitution after the process runs. Readers can follow related actions in the enforcement archive, including our report on a parallel app-based matter, the HPZ Token attachment, and on the Supreme Court's ruling on the limits of PMLA account freezes.

FAQ

Does this mean the people named are guilty?

No. A prosecution complaint contains allegations, not findings of guilt, and a provisional attachment is an investigation-stage step, not a conviction. Everyone the ED has named is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues before the Special PMLA Court, Rangareddy.

What exactly did the ED do with the aircraft?

Per its release dated 2 December 2025, the ED seized the Hawker 800A jet in March 2025, had the attachment confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority on 18 August 2025, obtained permission to sell it on 20 November 2025 under Rule 4(2) of the 2013 possession rules, and scheduled an MSTC auction for 9 December 2025, with proceeds earmarked for victim restitution.

Have investors got their money back?

Not from this step. The auction is a means of realising value from a seized asset; any restitution to victims would follow the sale and the later stages of the case. The ED alleges Rs 792 crore was taken and says it has attached properties worth Rs 18.63 crore alongside the aircraft.

Is anyone in custody in the case?

The ED says it has arrested three accused, Sandeep Kumar, Sharad Chandra Toshniwal and Aryan Singh Chhabra, and that the CMD, Amardeep Kumar, is presently absconding abroad. Arrest and a prosecution complaint are accusations to be tested at trial, not findings of guilt.

How do I check whether a fixed-return scheme is genuine?

Verify the entity against the registers of SEBI or the Reserve Bank of India before investing, and treat guaranteed high returns with caution. A registered intermediary appears on the regulator's public database; a scheme that cannot be traced to one, however professional the app looks, is a warning sign.

This report is based on the press release of the Enforcement Directorate dated 2 December 2025 in the Falcon Invoice Discounting matter, reviewed on 1 August 2026.