Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Six Accused in Alleged Rs 700 Crore APS Wealth Ventures Fraud Case
Nagpur/Pune, 1st August 2025: In a significant development in one of Maharashtra’s high-profile financial fraud cases, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to six individuals (accused nos. 3 to 8) in connection with an alleged ₹700 crore scam involving Pune-based APS Wealth Ventures LLP.
The six applicants had approached the High Court after the Akola Sessions Court denied their anticipatory bail plea on June 23, 2025. The bail petitions arose from a case registered at Khadan Police Station, Akola, based on a complaint by one Atmaram Amarsingh Rathod.
The FIR alleges offences under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the complaint, Rathod and his associates invested approximately ₹89.5 lakh in APS Wealth Ventures LLP, which is currently under investigation by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Pune, as part of a larger financial fraud inquiry.
After detailed hearings and examination of the case documents and the State’s response, Justice Urmila S. Joshi Phalke granted pre-arrest bail to all six applicants, offering them protection from custodial interrogation.
Representing the accused, criminal law expert Advocate Aashuutosh Srivastava argued that the FIR was being used as a coercive tool to pressurize family members of the main accused, despite their lack of involvement in the firm’s operations or any fiduciary relationship with the complainant. The applicants include senior citizens, homemakers, and professionals not connected to the daily affairs or management of the LLP.
“The FIR is nothing but a strategic move to harass uninvolved family members,” Srivastava submitted in court, emphasizing that the applicants had no role in inducing the investment or committing any fraud. “The Court rightly recognized that criminal law cannot be used to settle commercial disputes by targeting unrelated individuals. This order upholds the constitutional right to personal liberty and reaffirms protection from arbitrary arrest,” he said after the order was passed.
