Indian Parliament: Bill to curb ponzi schemes and protect poor introduced in Rajya Sabha

This Bill is aimed to curb ponzi schemes and to save gullible investors and to replace the Ordinance promulgated on same in February.

This legislation was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on July 24.

Soon after the Bill was introduced in the House, the Congress lawmaker T. Subburami Reddy said that the Non- Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) have been crossing through the bad phase and the Government needs to re-define the laws for the NBFC as there has been an ambiguity.

“The NBFC have been contributing to our economy and it is not true that all NBFC are bad, some of them are doing good business as per the law and their interests must be protected by the Government,” Mr Reddy said.

Speaking on the Bill, BJP Member Suresh Prabhu said that deposit mobilization are being happened but the Government has to ensure that no one is taken for a ride. He says those who are in this space will be brought under this comprehensive legislation.

“There are adequate provisions to safeguard the interests of gullible investors from ponzi schemes”, Mr Prabhu said.

The All India Trinamul Congress lawmaker Derek O Brien while speaking on the Bill, said that this was a good and watertight Bill because this was introduced in the House after parliamentary scrutiny.

Making a reference of the Pearl Group scam, Mr Brien said that over 49 thousand crore scam had cheated over half million people in the country.

Samajwadi Party Member Vishambhar Prasad Nishad said that people operating unregulated deposits are present throughout the country. Money belonging to the poor is affected by this practice.

“The Government should prepare a list of all frauds made by these companies and their promoters after 1947”, Mr Nishad urged.

TRS lawmaker Banda Prakash said there was a network of individuals taking deposits using commission agents. He congratulates the Finance Minister for coming up with this Bill and said there was no authentic study to measure how much poor people are investing in these schemes.

The JDU Member while supporting the Bill said that the poor laboureres, farmers and women become the easy prey of these companies because of the aspiration of getting more return in short time period.

When these fraud companies get enough deposit in their account, they dupe the customers and vanish, he said.

RJD member while appreciating the move of the Government said that Government should control these fraudulent companies in the beginning so that the poor, farmers and women do not fall prey of those ponzi schemes.