Rahul Pandey
The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered a multi-crore cheating and criminal breach of trust case after a preliminary probe into allegations made by a Mumbai-based shipping and logistics operator. The case, which spans Indian and international jurisdictions, centres on an alleged fraud of Rs18.33 crore.
According to the complaint filed by Vishal Mehta, proprietor of Rushabh Sealink and Logistics, senior officials of ALX Shipping (a subsidiary of Allcargo Logistics) and Dubai-based Aladdin Express DMCC, which reportedly has major shareholding from Hutchison Ports, knowingly concealed significant outstanding dues owed to port authorities. Despite this, they allegedly collected large sums from Mehta under the guise of operational requirements and later diverted the money for unauthorised purposes.
The FIR states that the accused issued fraudulent container release orders, provided misleading information about vessel clearances, and lured the complainant with promises of higher profit margins. Several agreements were signed to build confidence but were subsequently violated, causing the alleged financial loss. Company officials Sandeep Bakshi, Vikas Khan, and Ali Khan have been named in the FIR. The case was initially registered at Ghatkopar Police Station under BNS sections 316(2), 316(5), 318(4), and 61(2) before being transferred to the EOW for further investigation.
EOW officers are now tracking the money trail to determine whether the diverted funds were routed abroad. Given the involvement of foreign entities, investigators expect the probe to widen, potentially bringing more individuals and associated companies under scrutiny. Officials added that the fraud amount may increase as additional transactions are examined and the roles of executives linked to other corporate entities are assessed during the ongoing investigation.
