‘Abhay Gandhi bhanelo nahi pan ganelo kharo’ says Hardik Shah, who knew Gandhi since childhood and was his first employee.
Ponzi scamster and director of AISE Capital Management, Abhay Gandhi who fled with investors money worth cores of rupees was an undergraduate but had a knack for numbers and was very calculative in every sense of the word. This was revealed by Gandhi’s first employee Hardik Shah.
Shah, who knew Gandhi since childhood, said that after schooling, the scamster did not finish graduation. "But he was good at calculations. The Gujarati saying Bhanelo nahi pan ganelo kharo (not educated but very street smart) fit him aptly," said Shah.
The jobless Shah, who was looking for employment joined Gandhi in early 2009.
Before 2009, Gandhi used to operate from a small rented office in Kamdhenu Complex, below Ahmedabad Stock Exchange. "I was jobless and was looking for employment. At that time he worked alone at his office offering stock market tips," said Shah. The tips given by Gandhi were not based on technical analysis.
"He used to give tips on shares listed on the stock exchange. The tips included name of the company, target and stop loss," he said. Interestingly, his tips were almost always right, said Shah.
"On the basis of his own calculations, he used to give tips and even invest in those scrips to double his investments," he said.
Gandhi hired Shah to market tips in the city. "Initially we started giving free tips. But slowly, as our tips began giving results we started charging for them. After being part of other Ponzi schemes in the market, he too floated one and began offering 6% per month return on investment," said Shah.
In mid 2010, he started expansion and hired a office in Vastrapur from where he not only gave tips but also trained others in how to give it.
"He called himself ‘Nifty King’ and so he also started a training institute for those who wanted to become a Nifty strategist," said Shah.
In late 2010, after being trained under Gandhi, Shah left AISE Capital Management. "I tried to become self-employed but could not succeed. Later after several requests, he agreed to take me back but at a reduced pay. This time he asked me to market his tips again," said Shah.
According to Shah, till late 2010, Gandhi had collected less than Rs2 crore. "But in the last six months, he grew his business and gathered hundreds of crore of rupees. He also believed in showing off and hence began living in a rented bungalow. He also rented two expensive offices, one each at Nehrunagar and Anandnagar, which always remained empty," said Shah.
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