Govt proposes strict penalty, jail term for Ponzi operators

The draft Bill provides that offenders will be punished with imprisonment for minimum term of one year

The government on Friday came out with modified draft Bill to check the menace of Ponzi schemes through a set of measures which include imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine of up to Rs 50 crore. The revised Draft ‘Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes and Protection of Depositors’ Interests Bill, 2016’ aims to provide for a comprehensive code to ban unregulated deposit schemes to protect the interests of depositors and the connected matters. The draft Bill, which has been finalised as per recommendations of an Inter-Ministerial Group, provides that offenders will be punished with imprisonment for minimum term of one year which may be extended to 5 years and with fine which may extend to Rs 10 lakh.