The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Uttar Pradesh Police Thursday arrested Gurnam Singh. He is the director of Pearls Agro-Tech Corporation Limited (PACL). The arrest occurred in Ropar district of Punjab. The arrest came in connection with the nearly Rs 49,000 crore alleged Ponzi scam.
Crores cheated; ED Tightens the Noose
Gurnam Singh allegedly extorted a massive amount of money from people in various states of the country. He did this through his company PACL. He deceived them by showing the dream of “doubling-triple the income in a short time”. Gurnam has duped over five crore investors across 10 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Kerala.
Gurnam lived a secret life at a farmhouse. It was built away from his village in Ropar, Punjab. He was involved in farming, a police official privy to the investigation said. He was arrested by the CBI in 2016 in another case. After being granted bail, he started a new secret life. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested PACL chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangoo. They also arrested three other officials in 2016 in connection with a similar case in Delhi. They are still in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The EOW has also obtained a B warrant against them in the matter.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against PACL and its associates. ED’s investigation revealed that PACL diverted investor funds to various shell and associate companies, including M/s. MDB Housing Complex Pvt. Ltd. This company was controlled by Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer. He is the son-in-law of PACL founder and the alleged mastermind, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo. Hayer is currently in judicial custody.
Early Gains, Later Losses: A Classic Pyramid Trap
PACL promoted its schemes by opening branches in many states. People were misled into believing that agricultural land would be purchased from their deposited capital. They were promised returns by making a profit on it. PACL issued bond receipts to investors. It did so without registering itself as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) with the Reserve Bank of India.
New investors’ funds were used to pay early investors. Agents earned hefty commissions. They were encouraged to bring in family and friends. Massive seminars were conducted to attract more people. But when investors stopped receiving any returns against issued receipts, complaints followed. This led to a SEBI probe, and a case was registered (EOW Case No. 1/18) in Kanpur.
PACL, formerly known as Guruvante Agro-Tech Limited, was registered in 1996 with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The company’s name was later changed to Pearls Agro-Tech Corporation Limited in 2011. PACL operated in 10 states across India.
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