Three US-based directors booked for cheating Mumbai diamond merchant of ₹5.36 crore in a diamond deal | Representational Image
Mumbai: The BKC police have booked three directors of the US-based Jas Diamond INC company for allegedly cheating a diamond merchant out of Rs 5.36 crore. The company had purchased diamonds worth Rs 18.50 crore.
They paid 50% of the amount as security and made a few additional payments, and a few diamonds were returned to the merchant. However, they neither paid the remaining Rs 5.36 crore nor returned the diamonds. The accused have been identified as Ashish Soni, Jaswant Soni, and Chintan Soni. The police registered the case on April 24.
According to the FIR, the complainant, Ghanshyam Patel, 46, who resides at Grant Road, operates Yogi Start LLP, a diamond company located in BKC. Patel had been working with a broker, Sameer Choksi, whom he had known for seven years. Sameer informed Patel that a Chicago-based company, Jas Diamond Inc., whose directors—Ashish Soni, Jaswant Soni, and Chintan Soni—all lived in the US, needed diamonds. Patel trusted Sameer and agreed to the deal.
From 2018 to 2022, Patel successfully conducted transactions worth around Rs 30 lakh with Jas Diamond Inc. The company would pay Patel within two days after receiving the diamonds, which helped build his trust in the directors.
In September 2022, Jas Diamond Inc. requested ‘Lab-Grown Polished Diamonds with IGI Certification’, claiming they had a customer interested. Chintan Soni called Patel and inquired about the availability of the diamonds. Patel agreed to the deal and packed a total of 3,490.77 carats of diamonds, generating an invoice worth Rs 18.50 crore.
Both companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and Jas Diamond Inc. also sent an email confirming their agreement to the terms mentioned in the MoU. As per the MoU, one of the conditions was that if the diamonds did not sell within 120 days after reaching the US, Jas Diamond INC would return the diamonds with the invoice at the same agreed rate, without any changes.
Meanwhile, as per the MoU, Jas Diamond com[any transferred 50% of the security amount along with a few additional payments and returned a few diamonds to Patel’s company. However, after 120 days, when Patel’s company demanded the remaining amount or the return of the diamonds, Jas Diamond company assured them that they had shown the diamonds to customers and that the deal would be completed soon. Despite several follow-up emails from Patel’s company, the matter remained unresolved.
Patel eventually filed a complaint against Ashish Soni, Jaswant Soni, and Chintan Soni. The police have registered the case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by merchant), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
