The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken a significant step in the Loni Urban Multi State Credit and Thrift Cooperative Society (LUCC) case, arresting an accused in connection with the alleged misappropriation of approximately ₹10,314 crore belonging to over 30.51 lakh investors. The accused, identified as Ravi Shankar Tiwari alias Ravi Tiwari, was produced before a special court on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, and remanded to ED custody for 10 days. The ED’s investigation is based on several First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Teekamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, against LUCC, the Lustiness Janhit Credit Cooperative Society Limited, and Option One Industries Limited.
According to the agency, these companies lured members of the public to invest in deposit schemes by promising high returns, only to misappropriate the invested amounts. The ED probe has revealed that Ravi Shankar Tiwari has been associated with the SAGA Group Network, led by Sameer Agrawal, since 2009 as a senior functionary. He also served as a team leader of Advantage Tradecom India Private Limited, Option One Industries Limited, LUCC, and other SAGA Group entities.
Tiwari allegedly assisted Sameer Aggarwal, currently based abroad, in operating LUCC and LJCC, and his statements to the agency purportedly revealed his involvement in the commission of the crime and his role in the said SAGA Group entities. The accused and his family members received substantial deposits from SAGA Group entities in various bank accounts, for which he failed to provide any satisfactory explanation. Furthermore, Tiwari allegedly had interests in multiple entities used for the receipt, routing, and withdrawal of the ‘proceeds of crime’.
Notably, he had also acquired several residential and commercial assets in his name and that of his family members, using the funds under scrutiny, as per the ED’s findings.
