Bhupendrasinh Zala, alleged brain behind Gujarat ponzi scheme, arrested: Police
Bhupendrasinh Zala, who had been on the run for weeks, was arrested from a village in Mehsana district on Friday
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat police on Friday arrested Bhupendrasinh Zala, the chief executive officer of a firm that is accused of duping thousands of investors including some cricketers in a Ponzi scheme scam.
Zala, who had been on the run for weeks, was arrested from a village in Mehsana district on Friday, a senior official of Gujarat CID Crime Branch said. “We will be able to give more details once he is brought to the CID Crime office in Gandhinagar,” he said.
Seven people have already been arrested in this case.
Zala’s firm, BZ Financial Services, is accused of operating a deceptive scheme without regulatory approvals and promising annual returns of 30-35% to his depositors. He was also alleged to lure his investors with gifts such as a vacation in Goa, mobile phones and television sets,
“We have so far found a list of at least 2,500 individuals who had enrolled under the scheme. There would be more. We also came across bank account details of at least two prominent cricketers, and on verification, we found that they were indeed theirs. The investment by these cricketers ran into a few crores of rupees,” he added.
The official claimed that the overall scale of the scam could touch ₹6,000 crore.
{{/usCountry}}The official claimed that the overall scale of the scam could touch ₹6,000 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Police officers started investigating the firm on a complaint and carried out raids at seven of the eleven offices operated by Zala across the state about three weeks back The remaining centres shut down as word of the investigation spread.
{{/usCountry}}Police officers started investigating the firm on a complaint and carried out raids at seven of the eleven offices operated by Zala across the state about three weeks back The remaining centres shut down as word of the investigation spread.
{{/usCountry}}Zala, a resident of Sabarkantha district’s Himmatnagar taluka, who introduced himself as chief executive officer of the BZ Group, had a look out circular notice issued against him this month.
{{/usCountry}}Zala, a resident of Sabarkantha district’s Himmatnagar taluka, who introduced himself as chief executive officer of the BZ Group, had a look out circular notice issued against him this month.
{{/usCountry}}Last week, the Gujarat high court rejected Zala’s anticipatory bail plea after the prosecution alleged that Zala had received ₹360 crore in different accounts before the police crackdown and that he was able to withdraw this money by the time his accounts were frozen, leaving only ₹1 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Last week, the Gujarat high court rejected Zala’s anticipatory bail plea after the prosecution alleged that Zala had received ₹360 crore in different accounts before the police crackdown and that he was able to withdraw this money by the time his accounts were frozen, leaving only ₹1 crore.
{{/usCountry}}CID has so far confiscated about 18 properties linked to Zala worth around ₹100 crore.
A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment fraud where operators pay early investors using money collected from new investors, rather than from actual profits. They lure victims by promising unusually high returns in a short time. The scheme appears successful at first as early investors receive payments, but it collapses when new investments slow down or too many investors try to cash out simultaneously, as there is no real business generating actual returns.
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