The convicted fraudster backing 5ire, ‘India’s 105th unicorn’

In May 2022, headlines began to appear in reputable media outlets about how Sram & Mram, a relatively unknown business group, was investing billions in various sectors.

Those investments included a US$100 million investment in Dubai blockchain firm 5ire, an initial investment of US$3.64 billion in a semiconductor fabrication plant in India, and a US$100 million investment in air cargo business SpiceXpress.

Sram & Mram also announced it was investing in real estate.

But an investigation last year by Tech in Asia raised concerns that Sram & Mram did not have the ability to fund these investments. Details of the company’s finances were difficult to find – unusual for a company claiming to be a UK-headquartered conglomerate with 10 companies, over US$800 million in “turnover,” and more than 300 employees across five continents.

Tech in Asia looked into the firm’s claims but could not validate many of them.

Almost a year later, Tech in Asia found more questionable details about Sram & Mram, including its legal woes in the US. One of them is a recent lawsuit from its own counsel: New York-based Chalos & Co., which represented Sram & Mram in a fraud case filed in California.

“Syndicates,” spice, and semiconductors

Now, however, Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani, Sram & Mram’s chairman and founder, is changing his tune.

In a interview with Tech in Asia, he said 5ire told him that it does not “need” the second tranche of its US$100 million investment.

He added that Sram & Mram did not inject US$100 million into SpiceXpress. Instead, it is leading a “syndicate” that’s raising the funds.

“We are raising money for them. We are not giving them money from our pocket,” Hiranandani says.

Having said that, he then seemed to reverse himself and claimed that Sram & Mram can secure funds for SpiceXpress by issuing corporate bonds.

Claims, concerns, and cases

Taking the gloves off

That’s an order

“There is no money in the system”

Who’s the CEO?