The scale and magnitude of the Ponzi scams as they emerge with each passing day during the interrogation of the arrested operators is nothing short of astounding.
The scale and magnitude of the Ponzi scams as they emerge with each passing day during the interrogation of the arrested operators is nothing short of astounding.
An initial realistic estimate of the extent of money swindled by Abhay Gandhi alone in the numerous Ponzi schemes is being pegged at Rs1,000 crore. Imtiyaz Saiyed, though more infamous, is suspected to have swindled around Rs120 crore and Haresh Panchal’s scam is worth about Rs15 crore.
These estimates are based on the confessions of Saiyed, Panchal and Gandhi’s agents. For specifics, Mayur Chavda, ACP at the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) says that they are expecting to get a final report on the exact figures of these transactions from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) - a centralised national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
Significantly, even a month after the first FIR was lodged and the police started their investigations, complaints for about Rs1.8 crore have been registered by around 20 people. "Victims who have lost huge sums of money are not coming forward as in most cases it would be black money, which they would not be able to explain under any circumstances," Chavda says.
He concedes that there may still be other Ponzi scamsters operating out there, but according to their reports, these people are paying back their investors in a hurry. "If they don’t pay up, they now know after the arrest of Saiyed and Panchal that they too won’t be spared. Till such time that the investors are getting their principal money back, even if partially or they are not earning any interest on it, they do not want to complain, as there is hope for them," he adds.
A total of 3 arrests have been made so far in these 3 cases and constant interrogation of their agents is underway. Another piece of information that seems to have emerged is that Saiyed most likely hatched the plan himself and operated independently through a network of around 30 direct and 300 indirect agents.
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