The private jet owned by fugitive businessman Amardeep Kumar, and operated by a US-registered charter firm, was operating as a commercial air ambulance.
The jet was seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad on Friday.
The aircraft, a 1993-model Hawker 800A with registration number N935H, was registered under Prestige Jets Inc. but was ultimately linked to Kumar. Customs records confirmed that Kumar had fled to Dubai along with an associate, Vivek Seth, on the same aircraft, sources from the ED shared.
Kumar, the Chairman and Managing Director of Falcon Group (M/s Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd.), absconded on January 22, 2025.
On February 17, the Economics Offences Wing (EOW) of Cyberabad police arrested Pavan Kumar Odela, vice president of Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. and business head of Falcon Invoice Discounting Platform, and Kavya Nalluri, director of Capital Protection Force Pvt Ltd and Falcon Capital Ventures Pvt Ltd.
The case pertains to an alleged ₹850 crore ponzi scheme linked to the Falcon invoice discounting platform.
“The aircraft, reportedly purchased in December 2023 for $1.6 million (approximately ₹13.94 crore) using proceeds from the scam, was being used to generate further revenue for Kumar and his associates under the guise of a medical air ambulance service,” an officer from ED said.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that a private charter company, Prestige Jets Inc., belongs to Kumar. Further intelligence indicates that an aircraft bearing the registration number N935H is registered under M/s Prestige Jets Inc., a company incorporated in Delaware, USA, in February 2024.
ED officials shared this aircraft number with Customs authorities, who informed them that the aircraft had departed on March 5 at 10:15 p.m., purportedly as an air ambulance bound for Dubai. Consequently, the crew details were obtained from the general declaration submitted by the aircraft operator to Customs. A key accused, a co-director in Mr Kumar’s group of companies, disclosed in a statement that the crew members were employed by Mr Kumar on his private jet.
Upon receiving information from the Customs about the return of the same aircraft, N935H, to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on March 7, a team from the ED Hyderabad Zonal Office (HYZO) proceeded to search the aircraft. Statements from the crew members led by Saptarishi Chatterjee, who is listed as a namesake director in Prestige Jets Inc., USA., along with incriminating documents retrieved from their mobile phones, indicated that the aircraft had been purchased using proceeds of crime by Amar Deep Kumar.
The aircraft in question, a Hawker 800A (N935H), is a mid-sized business jet with seating for eight passengers (or six plus a stretcher). It was purchased in the name of Prestige Jets Inc. for USD 1.6 million in 2024.
Additionally, Kumar is believed to have spent approximately ₹3 crore on interior modifications. Prior to the registration of the FIRs, Kumar had been making monthly trips to Dubai on this jet.
Furthermore, the accused have been operating the aircraft as a medical air ambulance, charging approximately USD 3,000–3,500 per hour through various booking websites such as ICATT, generating revenue for themselves.
To obscure the aircraft’s beneficial ownership, they outsourced ground handling operations to a Delhi-based company through another service provider registered in Dubai. Additionally, Prestige Jets Inc. was apparently incorporated in the name of a foreign national, with all rights and interests later assigned to Kumar.
Acting on intelligence inputs, ED officials reached the airport at 11.30 a.m. on March 7, shortly after the jet landed from London at 11.15 a.m. The team conducted searches and interrogated the crew, which included a pilot, co-pilot, a woman crew member, and an employee of Prestige Jets Inc. Mobile phones recovered from the crew provided crucial evidence linking Kumar as the owner of the aircraft, including payment records to the pilots and other staff.
Following these revelations, the ED seized the jet and is now investigating the financial trail, as well as other associates involved in laundering funds from the ponzi scheme.
Investigations by EOW revealed that the plot was orchestrated by primary accused Amardeep Kumar and his associates. The firm duped nearly 7,000 investors by promising high returns on short-term deposits. Investors were misled through a mobile app and website that falsely claimed affiliations with major companies like Britannia and Amazon. The scheme collapsed in January 2025 when payments stopped.
Authorities have traced misappropriated funds to businesses in cryptocurrency, aviation, hospitality, and real estate, including Coin Trade and Prestige Jets. The accused were also linked to a previous multi-level marketing fraud in 2022. Efforts are underway to recover the diverted funds and identify more individuals involved.
Published – March 09, 2025 08:48 am IST
