mumbai promising to double money on investments in real estate a santacruz couple cheated more than 500 investors of over rs 40 crore the husbandwife duo was arrested by the citys economic offences wing eow sleuths on saturdaythe couple raeesa khan poonawalah 35 and her husband mustafa baig 40 floated several schemes their firm r k interiors was a gateway to collect investments said an eow officernisar shaikh a financial advisor who had invested in the duos scheme lodged a police complaint on february 22 stating he was cheated by the couple and two othersthey told investors they had tieups with several renowned developers victims were told the firm would invest money with developers and their investments would be doubled in a year added the officer people with as low as rs 10000 could invest too said the officerthe couple also offered commission to those who brought in more investorsthe scheme ran successfully from 2012 to mid2017 however the firm stopped making payments in 2017 and anxious investors began demanding their money back the accused finally shut down the schemes and vanished as of now we have got 500 victims however this number is likely to rise sharply when more people know about a criminal case against the couple and others we have also identified several bank accounts and written to the banks to freeze them we are examining if the accused have properties in their names so that they could be attached said an eow officer the couple has been booked for cheating under the ipc and also slapped with stringent charges under the maharashtra protection of interest of depositors act