The monsoon session of the Gujarat Assembly kicked off on a dramatic note Monday, with Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani confronting the state government over widespread financial frauds under the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Deposits Act, 2003.
On the very first day, Mevani reportedly posed pointed questions to the Home Department about Ponzi schemes and scam-ridden companies that have swindled thousands of investors across the state. News reports claim that he sought specific details on how many complaints had been filed under the Act, the total amount of money stuck, and the extent of recovery made so far.
Reports added that the government’s reply sent shockwaves through the House: over the past two years, 81 complaints were filed, and a staggering sum of Rs 402.21 crore of public money was trapped in these fraudulent schemes.
Despite the scale of the financial damage, the state has taken action against only two companies. Their properties were seized and auctioned, yet the recovery remains abysmally low — just Rs 7.53 crore has been returned to the defrauded investors, leaving a massive gap yet to be addressed.
This unsettling data was revealed amidst the backdrop of two major scams that rattled Gujarat of late.
In 2024, Bhupendrasinh Zala, CEO of the BZ Group, allegedly orchestrated a colossal Rs 6,000-crore Ponzi scheme. The operation enticed over 14,000 investors with promises of doubling their investment within three years and offering attractive monthly returns.
During the probe, CID Crime teams from Gandhinagar reportedly conducted raids across Sabarkantha, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, and even Rajasthan. They unearthed transactions amounting to Rs 175 crore tied to the group. Investigators later found that BZ Financial Services — the main entity involved — operated without any authorisation.
Even as the BZ scam remained under investigation, this year saw another large-scale fraud surface, this time driven by cryptocurrency. A company named Blockora, based in Rajkot, duped 8,000 investors — including 40 from Rajkot alone — and disappeared with Rs 300 crore.
The scam revolved around a bogus cryptocurrency called TABC. Investors were promised daily returns of Rs 4,000 on an upfront investment of Rs 4.25 lakh. Soon after, the company’s founders and partners vanished without a trace, leaving victims in financial ruin.
The Assembly session’s opening was marked by Mevani’s pointed intervention, as he “grilled the state government on scam complaints under the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Deposits Act-2003.”
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