Masood has given some hopes thru his interview . Review on City Limouzines

Masood has given some hopes thru his interview published in DNA

( Mumbai Edition)

MUMBAI TOP NEWS Monday, October 5, 2009

Somendra Sharma

In the midst of a row over allegedly

cheating several thousand investors

to the tune of crores of rupees, City

Limouzine chairman Sayed Masood,

in an exclusive interview with DNA,

said he is ready to repay the money

to his investors if officials of the economic

offences wing (EOW) of the

Mumbai police stop ‘harassing’ him.

Excerpts:

Who do you blame for the current

problems in your company?

The EOW investigations are responsible.

I have a company that

has been functioning for more than

15 years. I never defaulted in making

payments. However, I could not

focus on the company ever since

the EOW began harassing me. After

being constantly summoned by

the police, I had to shut shop. I also

blame the media for their wrong

publicity.

What is stopping you from

carrying on with your business?

The investors say you have

assured repayments from the

next month

The Supreme Court had said that

the police can investigate the alleged

cheating case of Rs55,000 filed

by one of the investors. But on the

pretext of investigating the case,

the police is making lakhs of investors

suffer. The EOW is not allowing

me to run my operations. I

can start repaying people from next

week itself if the EOW stops harassing

me. I believe there should

be some outcome of the case by November.

How is the police ‘harassing’ you?

Every now and then, EOW officers

come to my office and asks for

various documents and use pressure

tactics. I have appointed a PR

person and lawyers who can answer

all their queries, yet they summon

me to their office at Crawford

Market.

The police say they fear that you

might flee the country and have

hence impounded your passport.

What is your take on that?

My passport was never impounded.

I wanted to meet my family,

which stays abroad, for Eid, but

the police felt that it was a tactic to

flee the country.

Do you fear coming before the

investors? Do you still go to your

office?

I have no fear from my investors

as they are with me and will always

support me. I had to stop my business

operations as I could not focus

on them. I have stopped visiting my

office.

What is your appeal to your

investors ?

I can only ask them to be patient

and stand by me in this situation. I

hope the situation will be fine like

before and soon we will be able to

come out of all our problems.

‘I can repay investors from next week’

THE CASE

City Limouzines (India) Ltd, a Cuffe

Parade-based firm, had been accused

of defrauding people by luring them into

making investments against the promise

of a car. Jalandhar Phansare, an

investor, had filed a criminal complaint

against the company at the Cuffe Parade

police station last year. The Economic

Offences Wing later took over the

investigation of the case.