Investors lost Rs 2,000 cr in 4 major Ponzi cases; Cops recover less than Rs 100 cr from accused
Several Ponzi schemes which have happened in the city have been discovered in the past, with a number of people duped of crores of rupees by scamsters. However, even after the accused were arrested by the police, the entire money that was taken was never recovered in any of the cases.
There are four major Ponzi scheme cases where the victims are still waiting to get their money back. In all four cases, the police were able to nab the scamsters but were unable to recover all the money from them.
Rs 800-cr Ponzi scheme by Zahir Rana
In 2003, Zahir Rana, owner of Remo Marketing was arrested by the CID crime for his role in a multi-crore scam. Rana had started an investor scheme in which he had promised to give the investors threefold returns. Around 60,000 people had fallen for his trap and had invested money in the scheme. As per the police, Rana duped the investors of around Rs 800 crore. During the investigation by CID crime, only around Rs 43 crore was recovered from the accused while the rest is yet to be recovered. There are still investors who are waiting for their money. Rana was imprisoned until 2008, after which, he set up another firm Dorado Marketing in Navrangpura and duped investors again. The firm collected more than Rs 70 crore through various schemes that were invested in real estate projects around Nal Sarovar.
Self-proclaimed godman Mataji Ashok's Rs 550-cr Ponzi scheme
Ashok Jadeja aka Mataji Ashok, is a self-proclaimed godman who was arrested for swindling money from thousands of people across India by claiming to have the divine blessing of a goddess through which he could double and even triple the money of investors. Jadeja was arrested in 2009 for duping investors who were from Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat, etc, of Rs 550 crore. During the CID investigation, only around Rs 32 crore was recovered from the accused.
Abhay Gandhi's Rs 380-crore Ponzi scheme
In 2011, Abhay Gandhi was arrested by CID crime on charges of embezzlement of Rs 380 crore. Gandhi also started a scheme promising investors that he will ensure three times more return in 2011. Gandhi did give returns on investments as promised, but after a point of time, he shut down the scheme and when investors started demanding their money, he disappeared. The case was handed over to CID crime and during the investigation, only around Rs 29 crore was recovered from him.
Waft scheme of Imtiaz Sayyed
Imtiaz Sayyed used to trap people by saying that he will trade with their money on the share market and bring profits to them through his company Waft. To pull money out of investors, he launched Umrah and Haj schemes. Assuring investors that they would be sent for Haj and Umrah, Sayyed duped investors of around Rs 60 crore. Initially, he made profits for his investors, but after a point, he closed down his scheme and was arrested. Around Rs 14 crore was recovered from Sayyed while the rest is still pending.
INSIDE THE CASE
Rs 70cr of Rs 800cr recovered scam in Zahir Rana Ponzi case
Rs 32cr of Rs 550cr recovered in the Ashok Jadeja Ponzi scheme
Rs 29cr of Rs 380cr has been recovered in Abhay Gandhi Ponzi scheme
Rs 14cr of Rs 60cr recovered in Imtiaz Sayyed Ponzi scheme
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