India international Shubman Gill is among the four Gujarat Titans cricketers likely to be summoned by the Gujarat CID crime branch in a ₹450 crore ponzi scam, according to a report. Besides Gill, the other cricketers likely to be summoned are Sai Sudharshan, Rahul Tewatia and Mohit Sharma.
According to an Ahmedabad Mirror report, the development comes after the interrogation of ponzi scheme kingpin Bhupendrasinh Zala. During the interrogation, Zala confessed that he had not returned the money invested by the aforementioned cricketers in the scheme.
Based on the report, CID officials stated that Gill, who led Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024, reportedly invested ₹1.95 crore. The likes of Mohit, Tewatia and Sudharsan made investment of small amounts.
As Shubman Gill is currently part of the Indian Test squad in Australia, the cricketers will be summoned at a later date together, according to CID officials. The website reached out to Mohit, but the former India cricketer didn’t respond.
Who is Bhupendrasinh Zala?
A resident of Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha,Zala collected ₹450 crore from 11000 investors through his 17 offices that he had set up across the state between 2020 to 2024, according to police. Gill and the other three cricketers are believed to be among those 11000 investors.
According to Deputy Inspector General of Police (CID-Crime) Parikshita Rathod, Zala, through his entity BZ Financial Services, collected the money from the investors under the pretext of offering them higher returns. He was on the run for almost a month before the police nabbed him from Mehsana district on December 27.
He is in custody till January 4. Rathod said Zala purchased movable and immovable assets worth ₹100 crore after collecting money from the investors. However, he didn’t return the money as promised.
“So far, we have learnt that nearly 11,000 individuals had invested in schemes floated by Zala’s firm. Of these, around 10 individuals had invested more than ₹1 crore. Further investigation about his agents, modus operandi and assets is underway,” Rathod told reporters.
Seven other persons were arrested by the CID in connection with the case. According to the CID, Zala promised the investors a return of 36 percent annually. “His firms would initially pay investors the promised returns to win their trust before defaulting. He had also appointed agents on a commission basis to lure investors,” a CID statement read.
