BZ finance scam: Bhupendrasinh Zala spent ₹53 cr for personal use, reveals CBI
Updated: Jan 21st, 2025
The main accused in the BZ finance scam, Bhupendrasinh Zala, allegedly spent ₹53 crore of the ₹150 crore acquired from investors for personal purposes, the CBI has stated. Zala had lured investors by promising high returns, allegedly using his political connection to scam people. The scam was earlier believed to be worth ₹6,000 crore.
During the hearing of Zala’s bail plea in the Ahmedabad Rural Court, CBI presented a 39-page affidavit. It revealed that out of the ₹150 crore, ₹53 crore was used for Zala’s personal expenses. Additionally, two account books were discovered, showing transactions amounting to ₹52 crore.
The prosecutor disclosed that Zala had created bogus bills for the selling of cotton production and selling, which was never sold. This was allegedly a money laundering scheme.
Zala had withdrawn ₹23.19 crore from the bank and ₹28.867 crore in cash, totalling ₹53 crore, for his personal use, it was stated.
Further revelations in court stated that Zala only had one money-lending licence, but he operated in 11 locations across Gujarat.
The accused had also misappropriated funds meant for students’ education grants provided by the government. He transferred these funds into teachers’ accounts and then withdrew the cash from them.
The prosecutor argued that the investigation is still ongoing, the scam is extensive, and therefore, bail should not be granted to the accused.
What is a BZ scam?
Zala promised ₹3,000 per month for an investment of ₹1 lakh, while in a fixed deposit scheme, a return of ₹2,50,000 per year was promised on the principal amount of ₹1,00,000. Millions of middle-class investors were lured by this tempting offer and invested lakhs and crores.
He opened offices at various locations and activated agents in Talod, Ransan, Himmatnagar, Vijapur, Modasa, Malpur in Aravalli, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara districts to collect money from investors.
He used to contact his accomplices through WhatsApp calls with three new Jio dongles. The numbers and WhatsApp chat details of the main agents of BZ GROUP have been found on his mobile phone.
During interrogation, a total of 17 branches of BZ FINANCIAL SERVICES were revealed, including (1) Prantij (2) Himatnagar (3) Vijapur (4) Palanpur (5) Raigad (6) Bhiloda (7) Khedbrahma (8) Gandhinagar (9) Ranasan (10) Modasa (11) Malpur (12) Lunawada (13) Godhra (14) Bayad (15) Vadodara (16) Dungarpur (Rajasthan) (17) Rajula (Amreli).
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