The Directorate of Enforcement arrested Nowhera Shaik on May 21 from Gurugram in Haryana under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with the Heera Group investor fraud case.

According to ED, she was brought to Hyderabad and produced before the Special PMLA Court late on Wednesday night, following which she was remanded to judicial custody.

The ED said the investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh police against Nowhera Shaik, Molly Thomas, Biju Thomas and the Heera Group of companies over allegations of defrauding investors across the country.

Officials alleged that more than 1,72,114 investors were cheated of over ₹3,000 crore through investment schemes floated by the Heera Group.

Investigators said deposits were allegedly collected from investors across India by promising returns of around 36% annually through investments in Heera Group companies. However, the accused allegedly failed to repay either the promised profits or the principal amounts. According to the ED, funds collected from depositors were allegedly diverted into personal accounts through company bank accounts and used to acquire movable and immovable assets.

Officials said properties worth around ₹122 crore had already been auctioned and Ms. Nowhera Shaik was directed to cooperate in execution of sale deeds for auctioned properties.

However, the ED alleged that she failed to cooperate with execution of sale deeds and repeatedly attempted to obstruct auction proceedings.

The agency stated that the Supreme Court, while taking serious note of her conduct, directed her on April 8, 2026 to surrender before jail authorities within one week and execute sale deeds for 16 auctioned properties within two months, failing which non-bailable warrants and cancellation of bail could follow.

According to officials, she allegedly failed to surrender and later submitted an affidavit before the Special PMLA Court claiming that jail authorities had refused to take her into custody. The court later found that she had never approached prison authorities for surrender.

The Special PMLA Court subsequently cancelled her bail and issued a non-bailable warrant against her on May 7.

The ED said its officers searched for her in Hyderabad and Bengaluru before developing intelligence inputs that she was hiding in Gurugram under a fake identity using forged documents.

A joint operation conducted by ED officials and Haryana police led to her arrest from an Airbnb property in Sector 45, Gurugram, where she was allegedly staying using an Aadhaar card in the name of Shaik Khamar Jahan along with her associate Sameer Khan.

Officials said she was arrested in compliance with the warrant issued by the Special PMLA Court and brought to Hyderabad.

The ED also noted that another person, Kalyan Banerjee, had earlier been arrested in January this year for allegedly impersonating an advocate and attempting to interfere in ED auction proceedings at the instance of Ms. Nowhera Shaik. Further investigation is under way.