Conman Vineet on the lam, ED may probe

HYDERABAD: Vineet Agarwal, the conman who swindled money from several politicians, business houses and realtors in Hyderabad and Vijayawada, is reportedly on the lam after being exposed by Deccan Chronicle.

After the DC exposé was published on November 11, ‘Conman cashes in on ED, IT raids’, several of those who paid him got in touch with Vineet, seeking an explanation. Vineet, whose long con got exposed after he failed to deliver the “services” he had promised and collected money for, including using his purported connections in Delhi to delay or abort Enforcement Directorate raids and investigations, simply took off.

“Vineet was in the process of planning more cons, including raking in more moolah before the DC report exposed him and alerted everyone in the Telugu states. Once the elite circles in Hyderabad got a hang of his activities and his modus operandi was exposed, he disappeared,” a middleman, who had helped him in the past, said.

“Vineet is a pathological liar. He may lay low now, but such people can never stop thinking of the next con,” he said.

Using his connections and support from a member of Parliament from a neighbouring state to get introduced to several business houses and politicians, Vineet began to claim that he was very powerful and had connections with some of the biggest offices in Delhi. He convinced most people that he could actually stall ED or CBI probes into their activities, delay or abort investigations, even make the interrogations friendly, should the matter come to an arrest, and was paid handsome fees.

The 65-year-old Vineet Agarwal, who has dug his heels deeply, and is working on a couple of premium real estate projects in the outskirts of Hyderabad and Bengaluru, has used the political situation in Telangana, where the confrontation between the TRS and the BJP at power in the Centre created a context for increased CBI and ED raids in Hyderabad, to the hilt to make big bucks.

Originally from Madhya Pradesh, Vineet even began to get arrogant and was publicly seen insulting several politicians, including his mentor. But he was tolerated because of his promise of protection from the Central agencies. Once he failed to deliver after being paid, and the raids intensified, rumours and complaints began to spread.

Once DC exposed his name and method of dealing, he disappeared. But the Enforcement Directorate has taken note of his deals and, even if he is not top priority, hating as all government and investigation agencies do of someone misusing and tarnishing their name and image, may soon probe his affairs.