Nowhera Shaik, the controversial founder of the Heera Group and prime accused in the Dh2.36 billion Heera Gold scam, has been arrested in Faridabad area of Haryana.
The arrest was made by sleuths of the Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) on Tuesday evening after three long-pending non-bailable warrants (NBWs) were executed against her in connection with fraud cases dating back to 2018, Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times reported.
Her arrest comes as a major development in a case that has left thousands of investors, many of them in the UAE, financially devastated. Several UAE residents who invested in Heera schemes have lost their life savings, with some still struggling to repay loans taken to fund their investments.
According to police, Nowhera was located while travelling in the Surajkund area of Faridabad and taken into custody. “She is being brought back to Hyderabad to appear before the local court,” said N. Swetha, Deputy Commissioner of Police, CCS.
Nowhera’s arrest follows the October 2024 Supreme Court order cancelling her bail and directing her to surrender. Despite multiple opportunities and conditional summons, she failed to appear before court, prompting authorities to intensify their efforts.
The Heera Group, under Nowhera’s leadership, is accused of running a Ponzi-style scheme that promised monthly returns of up to 36 per cent and annual payouts as high as 80 per cent through businesses like Heera Gold, Heera Textiles, and Heera Foodex. The company abruptly stopped payouts in 2018, triggering panic among more than 100,000 investors across South Asia and the Middle East.
Nowhera was first arrested in 2018 and later released on bail. Since then, legal proceedings have continued across India, including fresh cases by the Economic Offences Wing and attachment of 124 properties by the Enforcement Directorate, 28 of them in recent months.
Shahbaz Ahmad Khan, president of the All India Heera Group Victims Association and a key whistleblower, welcomed the arrest. “She kept dodging court appearances while people’s lives were falling apart. It’s high time she is held accountable,” he told Khaleej Times. He said new complaints continue to pour in from the UAE. “People are still reeling. Some have even lost their homes.”
Earlier this year, India’s Supreme Court had directed Shaik to deposit Rs 250 million (approximately Dh10.57 million) within three months or risk cancellation of her bail, a condition she failed to meet.
