Finance Minister Y. Joykumar’s short cut answer to a very heated issue in connection with the ‘Ponzi Scheme’ asked by Congress MLA K. Meghachandra, during question hour yesterday is a direct indication of the government’s attitude to sideline the implementation of unregulated deposit schemes by various non-banking sectors in the state.
As per the reply to the question by Congress MLA K. Meghacandra, the Finance Minister –in-charge had stated that the present Government has not detected the presence of activities of Ponzi Scheme in the state. He however, added about private bodies regulating unregulated deposit scheme by some non banking sectors in the state.
Today, almost all people know the meaning of the Ponzi scheme and its modus operandi. The nomenclature Ponzi is known after Charle Ponzi of the United States who duped investors in the 1920s with a postage stamp speculation scheme. Though Ponzi scheme is not officially explained or adopted in Indian system everyone knows about it and it has now become a short name of money earned through fraudulent and mischievous activities.
US Security Exchange Commission had stated that a common type of scam involving unregulated deposits is the Ponzi scheme, a type of investment fraud wherein one party promises high returns on an investment with little to no risk.
While replying in connection with the question raised by Congress MLA Meghachandra, FM in Charge straight away stated that he would have said yes if the question is about any existence of unregulated deposit scheme run by aprivate body.
It is worth mentioning that the Finance Minister-in-Charge should do somehome-work. It was on July 29, 2019, that the Rajya Sabha passed ‘The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019’ after the Lok Sabha passed it five days previously.
The main purpose of the bill is to protect investors from fraudulent investment schemes, such as Ponzi schemes.
So, if the FM stated that the Government has information about unregulated deposit scheme going on in the state, how could he answer that the government has no knowledge of Ponzi scheme operating in the state.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often promise to invest your money and generate high returns with little or no risk. But in most Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters do not invest the money. Instead, they use it to pay those who invested earlier and may keep some for themselves.
With little or no legitimate earnings, Ponzi schemes require a constant flow of new money to survive. When it becomes hard to recruit new investors, or when large numbers of existing investor’s cashlay off, these schemes tend to collapse.
The state of Manipur had witness many such unregulated banking schemes. Earlier it was the Visharav, then come the TVI and then Forex, etc. and so on. Now at present some private banks in the non-banking sector are still carrying onponzi like schemes.
Let us forget about the issue of the 20 thousand plus so called depositor at Salai Holdings (Finance section). The Government should start taking up sue motto case and start investigating ofall alike the so-called companies which are collecting money from individuals on promise of huge interest per month.
A reply to sideline the issue will only create chaos to the people of the state.
