Bengaluru, June 7 -- A massive financial fraud operating as a Ponzi scheme has left over 40,000 investors in Karnataka in distress, with investigators estimating a shortfall of around Rs 660 crore in one of the state's largest such scams in recent years.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has exposed what officials describe as a meticulously run unregulated deposit racket allegedly operated by Shivananda Neelannavar, which allegedly collected nearly Rs 2,400 crore from the public by promising high returns and sustaining payouts through continuous inflows from new investors.
CID Deputy Inspector General of Police Bhimashankar Guled, addressing a press briefing, said there is clear prima facie evidence of fraud, noting that the accuse...