Kharour's VueNow Infotech Pvt Ltd (VIPL), had signed an MoU with the state government to set up data centres in each district at an investment of Rs 13,500 crore in 2022.
Uttar Pradesh: Investment scams are one of the major economic fraud cases in India. People lose crores of money after being trapped in such cases. The scammers sometimes convince even the government to build trust and secure more investment. One such instance came to light when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently arrested VueNow CEO Sukhvinder Singh Kharour and wife Dimple Kharour, alleged accused behind the Rs 3,558 crore ‘cloud particle scam’ from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport Airport while trying to flee the country.
Notably, the prime accused Kharour, CEO and founder of Uttar Pradesh-based business Group signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uttar Pradesh government, around two years ago. Kharour’s VueNow Infotech Pvt Ltd (VIPL), had allegedly conned the UP government and signed an MoU with the state government to set up data centres in each district at an investment of Rs 13,500 crore in 2022.
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“This is the reality of multi-million dollar MoUs signed at gala events in global investment summits,” journalist Piyush Rai said, sharing the news of Kharour’s arrest. In 2022, the UP government claimed to have signed an MoU to set up the World’s Biggest Data centre. In 2025, how a man conned the entire UP government into signing an MoU and was ready to flee the country with Rs 3500 crore of investors’ money, Piyush Rai penned in her X platform.
This is the reality of multi million dollar MoUs signed at gala events in global investment summits.
2022: UP govt claiming to have signed MoU to set up World’s biggest Data centre
2025: How a man conned the entire UP govt in signing an MoU. Was ready to flee country with… pic.twitter.com/MQNnLYjEEu
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) March 4, 2025
The central agency had launched a probe into the VueNow Group following a FIT filed by the Gautam Budh Nagar Police in Uttar Pradesh. The officials had found massive fraud under a deceptive ‘sale and lease-back’ (SLB) model and alleged Ponzi scheme and money laundering activities by Sukhvinder Singh Kharour.
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The authorities detained the duo reportedly on specific intelligence based on a Look Out Circular (LoC). The ED arrested both under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in connection with a money laundering investigation against VIPL’s sister concern VueNow Marketing Services Ltd (VMSL) and related entities and persons.
The ED officials have found that the promoters and directors of the firms ran a scheme and lured people into investing in cloud particles or servers. They also offered high returns with a guaranteed rental return of 48 per cent per annum, claiming that they would rent out these cloud particles to clients and then the rental income would be provided to the investors.
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Notably, the ED discovered that the company was largely non-existent, there were no clients, and the firms used new investors’ money to pay the old investors, using the bank accounts of sister firms Zebyte Rental Planet Pvt Ltd (ZRPPL) and Zebyte Infotech Pvt Ltd (ZIPL). The ED stated that the money passed on as rental income from clients to investors was actually received from new investors. There was no real rental income generated.
The probe agency also pointed out that Kharour had generated funds of Rs 3,558 crore through the multi-level scheme. Earlier, the ED had arrested Kharour’s alleged aide Arif Nisar, a journalist, who allegedly holds the majority of stake in ZIPL.
According to the ED, the funds, Rs 3,558 crore generated from criminal activities were siphoned off for personal gain other than business. The money was also diverted by M/s VMSL and group companies in giving high commissions to the channel partners, buying various luxurious vehicles, gold and diamonds, routing funds to the tune of hundreds of crores through shell entities and investment in properties, The Print quoted ED spokesperson.
Status Of VueNow’s MoU With Uttar Pradesh Government
In December 2024, while under investigation by the ED, VueNow, which had signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government valued at an investment Rs 13,500 crore, inaugurated two Edge data centres located in Malihabad and Ambedkarnagar, as part of its wider plan to set up Edge data centres across the state.
Minister of State for Excise and Prohibition Nitin Agarwal, IAS Secretary of IT and Electronics Anil Kumar Sagar and Special Secretary Neha Jain attended the inauguration ceremony, reported news portal Data Center Dynamics. As per the MoU with the state government, VueNow was set to develop the infrastructure for 750 Edge data centres across the state aiming to reduce latency in the state and meet the increasing demand for computing power.
It was further reported that the company has currently operational Edge data centres in Ghaziabad and Raebareli, with plans to launch others in Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Gorakhpur. It is said that the firm completed the land acquisition process for additional centres.
