Bhupendrasinh Zala, the CEO of a company accused of defrauding hundreds of investors, including several cricket players, in a Ponzi scheme scam, was taken into custody by Gujarat police on Friday.
According to a top Gujarat CID Crime Branch official, Zala, who had been evading capture for weeks, was apprehended on Friday from a village in the Mehsana district. He stated, “Once he is taken to the CID Crime office in Gandhinagar, we will be able to provide more details.”
In this case, seven persons have already been taken into custody.
Zala’s company, BZ Financial Services, is charged with running a fraudulent scheme without obtaining regulatory approvals and guaranteeing his depositors 30–35% yearly profits. Additionally, he was accused of luring his investors with presents including television sets, cell phones, and a trip to Goa. He added, “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”.
According to the official, the scam’s total scope might reach ₹6,000 crore.
About three weeks ago, police began looking into the company after receiving a complaint, and they conducted searches at seven of Zala’s eleven offices throughout the state. As news of the probe spread, the other centers closed. This month, a lookout circular notice was issued against Zala, a resident of the Himmatnagar taluka in the Sabarkantha district, who identified himself as the CEO of the BZ Group.
After the prosecution claimed that Zala had received ₹360 crore in various accounts prior to the police crackdown and had managed to withdraw this money by the time his accounts were stopped, leaving only ₹1 crore, the Gujarat high court denied Zala’s request for anticipatory relief last week.
About 18 properties connected to Zala, valued at approximately ₹100 crore, have been seized by CID thus far.
What Is Ponzi Scam?
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 entice victims with the promise of exceptionally large returns in a short period of time. When new investments slow down or too many investors attempt to cash out at once, the plan fails since there is no actual business producing returns, even though it first looks successful as early investors receive rewards.
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