The wordless, piercing disappointment from his elderly father crashed into Karthik Sivasubramanian like a physical blow, knocking the air from his lungs.visiting Melbourne from India, were sitting down to a meal when he broke the news that his plan to bring them to Australia for good was now in tatters.
The deal was relatively straightforward — his savings would be invested in a property at Little River, a town south-west of Melbourne, and in return he would receive his investment back, plus $25,000.To his delight, the money and his initial investment was returned promptly and without issue in February 2023.
By the middle of last year, all the money he had trusted to Ms Miglani was meant to be back in his account, ready to pay for reunion visas, also known as contributory visas.After having success with one investment opportunity, Mr Sivasubramanian had no reason to believe a second deal would be any different.During a phone call in March 2023, she told him he would get his money back and acknowledged she was the "middleman"."I know you are stressed.
More than 20 investors allege they have lost their life savings to Mr Miglani and those in his orbit, claiming the investment opportunities offered by his ex-wife and staff members were nothing but a scam. That includes demonstrating his success with lavish displays of wealth including a sponsorship of the St Kilda Football Club in the first round of the 2023 AFL season, and as the title sponsor for the Multicultural Cup at the SCG, which celebrates diversity in cricket."He was a very good personality and talking very nicely and everything — we thought he had achieved this with his hard work," one investor said.
The 46-year-old was also previously the director of a real estate agency, MIG Real Estate, and in October 2020, was charged by Consumer Affairs Victoria with breaching the Estate Agents Act 118 times.Mr Miglani pleaded guilty to making 22 withdrawals of client money from the agency's trust account, totalling almost $100,000.
Mr Miglani's lawyer, George Defteros, confirmed the raids and said a "significant" amount of items were seized including documents and electronic devices, but said some items had already been returned."The investigation is still in its infancy," Mr Defteros said."We believe that this claim can be finalised amicably with ASIC," he said.
"The way the Indian community has moved to Australia, it's the first generation so they want to establish themselves as quickly as possible," he said.He engaged with the Miglanis in a deal similar to the one offered to Mr Sivasubramanian and alleged Mr Miglani later denied any knowledge of their deal, despite a trail of correspondence."He totally washed … his hands, he said I didn't give you any promise.
Travel to see relatives in far-flung places was the first thing to go as they tried to preserve what money they had left for the new home they were building in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The day after visiting the MIG Sons & Co headquarters, where they said they would write Google reviews unless their money was returned, Dr Kant received a call from Mr Miglani.
"It's my life saving for last 25 years, it's hard-earned money. I work mostly 12 hours a day to save that money for my retirement and that is gone into the drain now."He now has little left to lose with court action and is furious that when he approached the authorities, he was told nothing could be done.
A former employee of Amit Miglani says he left the job after developing serious concerns about where the money he collected was going.He said the type of investment scheme Mr Miglani was allegedly promoting — small groups of people buying land together to sell at a higher price down the track — was a known practice in the Indian community.
He said Mr Miglani would then try to find a buyer for the land before another deposit, or settlement, was due. The former worker claims that as a result, Mr Miglani was unable to settle some of the properties and instead forfeited deposits, leaving investors in the lurch.The ABC has seen correspondence from lawyers to Mr Miglani on at least one occasion, advising him that he had failed to settle on a property.