The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has arrested Rohit Sharma, a fugitive accused in a ₹2.16 crore industrial hemp investment scam, who had been evading arrest for nearly four years, an official said on Friday.
Police said Sharma, 44, President of the Indian Institute of Hemp Association (IIHA), was intercepted at IGI Airport on Monday while returning from Canada, following a Look Out Circular issued against him. He had been declared a proclaimed offender on 26 October 2021 after absconding abroad.
“The case dates back to December 2021, when Karan Bhatia, Director of Ice Dream Global Pvt. Ltd., lodged a complaint alleging that Sharma duped his company into investing ₹2.16 crore in a so-called industrial hemp project,” said Amrutha Guguloth, Additional Commissioner of Police (EOW).
The officer added, “Sharma had promised lucrative returns, supply of raw material (bhang), and assistance in obtaining government licenses under long-term agreements.”
During the investigation, it was revealed that Sharma had neither a license nor the capacity to cultivate or supply industrial hemp. Instead, he diverted the funds into personal accounts and businesses where he had financial control.
Despite repeated assurances, no raw material was ever delivered and statutory approvals were never obtained, exposing the fraud.
The EOW probe unearthed multiple agreements, letters of intent, and financial trails linking the misappropriated money directly to IIHA and other Sharma-linked companies. “He showed deliberate intent to cheat from the very beginning,” the officer said.
A resident of Gurugram, Haryana, Sharma had previously worked in advertising before forming IIHA in 2015 to promote hemp-based ventures. His profile includes overseas exposure in Germany and past associations with firms such as Daoji Agro, CanIndica, and Hemp Pharma Amro.
He is also an accused in a separate multi-lakh fraud case registered in Rajasthan.
“Sharma was produced in court and remanded to two days’ police custody for further investigation,” the officer stated.
ENDS