Four people were detained by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offenses Wing on Thursday, August 13, 2026, and Friday, August 14, 2026, in relation to a company named AI Origin/Digital Origin, which was accused of operating a Ponzi/Multi-Level Marketing scheme and obtaining over ₹30 crore in cash.
A case was filed under the applicable BUDS Act and BNS Sections. Cheating is punishable by up to seven years in jail under Section 318(4), and joint liability for common intent is enforced under Section 3(5). Section 26 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act penalizes noncompliance with reporting requirements, while Sections 21 and 23 criminalize running, soliciting, or taking unregulated deposits (with penalties ranging from 1 to 7 years in prison and hefty fines).
The police claim that the company’s directors, including Chairman and Executive Director Shrikrishna Pandurang Chavan, Executive Director Ankush Shantaram Parte, and Executive Director Subhash Yashwant Pandere, along with agents and others, were taking illicit investments, including cash, and guaranteeing consistent, fixed returns of 5-7% per month without obtaining a license or registration from the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
The illicit investment schemes are said to have enticed people thru their website, AIOrigin.in, different WhatsApp groups, and live seminars held in different Maharashtra districts. Additionally, the company, which has been in operation for a year, is said to have published advertisements that promised further returns thru a “member joining” system.
According to reports, this method entails requesting ₹1,500 from the investment in exchange for an app named “UPPI” that allows the investor to access their earnings. But they have to share the scheme with others before they can obtain their returns using the app. The investor receives ₹3 to ₹5 for each new user, therefore they would want at least 70–80 users. Once they have ₹500 in the app, they can use it.
They allegedly even paid for 60 of their agents to travel to Thailand in order to entice others to join their investment program. The company had already purportedly been working with over 3,000 investors.
Additionally, the EIW discovered that the company was purportedly operating additional offices in Thane, Palghar, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Sangli, and Kolhapur, and that agents in the states of Karnataka and Goa were managing their operations. The offices in Satara and Solapur were scheduled to open on August 16.
The claimed company’s offices at Vasai West in Palghar, Goregaon East, and Malad East in Mumbai were raided by the authorities.
They even confiscated seven laptops/desktops, one BMW car, one Verna car, nine bank account passbooks, and ₹12.08 lakh in cash.
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