50 million duped: PACL director arrested in India's biggest Ponzi scam

PACL lured investors with land-for-deposit schemes and paid old investors with new funds, duping 50 million people across 10 states in a massive fraud

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday arrested 69-year-old Gurnam Singh, director of Pearls Agro-Tech Corporation Limited (PACL), from Ropar district in Punjab. Singh is accused of masterminding one of India’s biggest financial scams—a ₹49,000 crore Ponzi scheme that defrauded 50 million investors across 10 states.

 

Singh is among ten individuals named in the case. Four are already behind bars in related CBI cases, while authorities continue to track the remaining accused.

 

Land-for-deposit fraud at the centre of scam

 

PACL allegedly lured the public by promising land plots in exchange for recurring and fixed deposits. Despite not being registered as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), it collected vast sums in violation of the Reserve Bank of India Act.

 

In Uttar Pradesh alone, the company is estimated to have collected over ₹19,000 crore. Investors received bond receipts but never received the promised land or returns.

 

Classic Ponzi scheme, says EOW chief

 

Neera Rawat, Director General of EOW, described the operation as a textbook Ponzi scheme. Early investors were paid using funds from new investors. The scheme relied heavily on a network of agents, who earned large commissions and were urged to enrol friends and family.

 

CBI, ED join investigation

 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have both launched independent probes into the PACL scam. Following complaints and a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) inquiry, a case (No. 1/18) was registered at the EOW police station in Kanpur under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

 

The ED has also filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against PACL and its associates. It noted that funds collected in Uttar Pradesh were funnelled through multiple shell companies, including MDB Housing.

 

Money trail leads to founder’s family

 

One of the key entities identified by the ED is MDB Housing, allegedly controlled by Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer—the son-in-law of PACL founder and principal accused Nirmal Singh Bhangoo. Hayer is currently in judicial custody.

 

Investigations into PACL’s vast financial network continue, as agencies pursue asset recovery and attempt to trace the remaining fugitives.