Episode 201: Subrata Roy (Premium)

Join us as we discuss Subrata Roy: embattled Indian microfinance magnate. Roy grew his multi-level marketing scheme (also known as a "chit fund") into a billion-dollar behemoth which afforded him a luxurious lifestyle underwritten by millions of India's poorest residents. When India's securities regulator SEBI called him out on it, Roy doubled down and insisted upon his innocence.

There's a Netflix documentary episode out covering his struggle ("Bad Boy Billionaires: India") too, which we used as one of our sources for this episode.

Citations:

• Subrata Roy Net Worth: Salary & Earnings for 2019-2020 (Celeb Deatails)
  Subrata Roy is a entrepreneur from India. Indian businessman, founder, and Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar. He was also the owner of Pune Warriors India and London’s Grosvenor House.
• Subrata Roy (Vantu News)
  Bio
• Indian billionaire Subrata Roy mortgages Grosvenor House and New York's Plaza hotel to get out of jail (telegraph.co.uk)
  Subrata sales to help him get out of jail
• What To Know About Subrata Roy From Netflix's Bad Boy Billionaires (Bustle)
  Netflix series and more detials By Amanda Whiting Sep. 1, 2020
• Subroto Roy Biography (Business Maps of Indai)
  Bio on Subrata with family details
• Emotional comment against Sonia landed Sahara in trouble: Roy (First Post)
  Sahara India Pariwar Chairman Subrata Roy has blamed the Congress for trying to throttle his group's operations and said his group has landed in trouble with regulators such as Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) because of his 'emotional' comment against Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi
• What prompted the downfall of Subrata Roy’s Sahara empire? (TFIPOST)
  Subarata Roy ’s downfall has been one of the most dramatic business downfalls. Roy who was once seen as one of the most powerful and influential businessmen in India was in the midst of a controversy that broke out in 2014 concerning non-payment of dues to Sahara’s investors. Sahara group reportedly owed Rs. 36,000 crore to investors. The case had been brought to court on the grounds that Sahara did not stick to the industry rules and flouted market regulations. The dispute related to issue of Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures which Sahara group issued only “after taking permission from the Registrar of Companies at Ministry of Corporate Affairs”. SEBI objected that market rules had been violated as no Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) had been filed by Sahara which is necessary for companies trying to raise funds apart from taking permission from the SEBI for raising funds. During this rough patch, Roy also had to languish in jail for a duration of two years.
• Yet another massive Ponzi scheme goes pop in India (QZ)
  Once a powerful and influential businessman who owned an airline, sponsored India’s cricket team, and even had a stake in a cricket team in the Indian Premier League, Roy is now accused of duping investors of some $5.4 billion (Rs36,000 crore).
• Subrata Roy's Police custody extended; know all about Sahara Chief's scam! (Daily Bhaskar)
  New Delhi: Sahara Chief Subrata Roy was arrested by Lucknow Police and brought to Supreme Court on Tuesday. After repeated evasions, Roy folded hands and pleaded to be saved in the court of law, even after his face was inked by a lawyer while he was being brought to court earlier the afternoon.
• Sahara money laundering case: Almost 95 per cent money flow was in cash, ED goes for data analysis after searches (India Today)
  The ED officials from Mumbai, Delhi and Lucknow have seized the data of computer servers linked with Sahara India Real Estate Corp. Ltd. (SIRECL) and the Sahara Housing Investment Corp. Ltd (SHICL)
• Truth vs Hype: Did Sahara make Rs 20,000 crore 'vanish'? (NDTV)
  New Delhi: What started off with the Supreme Court ruling as illegal an investor scheme by Sahara, has now escalated, with both the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and, more recently, the Himachal Pradesh High Court asking the Enforcement Directorate whether there are charges of money laundering against the Lucknow-based group.
• All problems will be resolved in 2020, says Subrata Roy in letter to investors (Money Control)
  Lavish claims from a foolish lad
• Sahara India founder Subrata Roy turns 70: Here are 7 interesting facts about the ‘Saharashri’ (New Hour)
  Pieces of Subrata Roy folklore
• Subrata Roy arrest row: The not-so-beautiful story (The Indian Express)
  From selling snacks on a lambretta to mega gigs in own ‘Shaher’, from Re 1 deposits to Rs 1,50,000 crore assets. ANIL SASI & Subhomoy Bhattacharjee trail the missing numbers in Subrata Roy’s rise and descent.
• Sahara Scam: The Story of Trust and Betrayal (Finology)
  Overview of the scam