The Gujarat CID Crime has revealed plans to summon several prominent cricketers in connection with a multi-crore ‘Ponzi’ scam involving investments in the BZ scheme. Those reportedly affected include national players: Shubman Gill, Mohit Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, and Sai Sudharsan, all of whom represented Gujarat Titans in the last IPL season.
The development follows the interrogation of Bhupendrasinh Zala, the alleged mastermind behind the scheme. Zala confessed to withholding funds invested by the cricketers in his scheme.
According to CID officials, Shubman Gill, who captained the Gujarat Titans, invested Rs 1.95 crore, while Mohit Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, and Sai Sudharsan made smaller contributions. The cricketers will be questioned once scheduling permits, as some are currently abroad and one is recovering from an injury.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the CID crime unit summoned Rushik Mehta, Zala’s chartered accountant, for questioning on Tuesday. Mehta, who resides in Sabarkantha district, managed Zala’s accounts.
A senior CID official told a section of the media, “If Mehta is found to be involved, appropriate action will be taken. We have also deployed a team of accountants to scrutinise bank transactions and an unofficial account book maintained by Zala, which has been seized. Raids have been ongoing at multiple locations since Monday.”
Initially, the scam was estimated at Rs 6,000 crore, but subsequent investigations revised the figure to Rs 450 crore. The seized unofficial account book recorded transactions amounting to Rs 52 crore. “Based on current findings, the total scam value is around Rs 450 crore, but it may rise as raids continue,” an official explained.
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