Roy is accused of orchestrating one of India's largest Ponzi schemes involving millions of investors, never sentenced, and died before any sentence was made in several cases. By the time of his death, he had spent many years in Delhi's notorious Tihar Prison, but was released on parole, although even the law did not determine the exact nature within him.
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When the Cooperative Central Registration Office (CRCS) launched a portal for investors to recover funds collected by Roy's company, Just Just ₹As of February 28, 2025, 2.314 million have been returned ₹Rs 15,775 crore provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission of India (SEBI) order. Many investors are still out of track, which adds to the mystery left by Roy.
Born in 1948, the boy from Araria, Bihar studied at the St. Children's School in Kolkata and the CM Anglo-Bangladesh Intermediate College in Varanasi, before completing his diploma in Mechanical Engineering from an academy in Gorakhpur. His father's early death meant that money was tight. exist Sahara: Untold Stories (2014), Tamal Bandyopadhyay tells how Roy started selling snacks from scooters and then moved to electric fans under the brand of Air Sahara. The adventure failed, but the name will live in his aviation business.
In 1976, he took over Sahara Finance, a struggling financial company, and his fate changed.
The mid-1970s was a turbulent time in India. The surge in inflation and rising unemployment are driving people to seek alternatives to bank deposits. This is the fertile foundation of a questionable financial plan – a thriving fund with promising index returns. When the Sahara Desert established its first fund in Gorakhpur, the infamous Sanchaita scam brewed in West Bengal, eventually affecting more than 131,000 people before it collapsed in 1980. At the same time, it also operates a Ponzi scheme based on insurance. These companies have received the seemingly respectable label of “Residual Non-Banking Companies” (RNBC) – although their operations have few honors.
But, although Sanchayita and Peerless lost after the Chit Funds Act was formulated in 1982, Roy was just beginning. As the capital base continued to grow – collecting thousands of millions of dollars from small depositors, he began investing in the growth sector in the 1980s and 1990s. Sahara India Pariwar is a grand umbrella for its business, expanding to real estate (Aamby Valley City), media (Sahara TV), airline (Air Sahara) and hospitality (Grosvenor House in London and Plaza Hotel in New York). By the early 2000s, Roy became a fixture for Indian business elites.
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His lifestyle matches his ever-expanding empire. Although he describes himself as “a simple man,” his first home with his wife Swapna is a one-bedroom house in a tin house, he projects the image of a kind tycoon. He fantasized about being a modern Robin Hood, who had taught the shop owner and Panwalas to preserve through his model planning. He expects to be reverent- because he serves the poor, because of his patriotic self-image. This explains his long preaching speech and the famous “Jai Sahara” tribute, which is essential to all staff. His official title is Chief Executive, but he sits on the throne.
In 2004, his son's wedding was dazzling for six days. Thousands of guests were scattered on private jets in the Sahara. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee then mixed it with Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci and Sachin Tendulkar. The guest list reflects Roy's political influence. While he is particularly close to Mulayam Singh Yadav, his friend Amar Singh – his network spans the party.
But successfully reproduced carelessly.
In 2009, Sahara Prime City filed a draft prospectus for Red Herring (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Commission of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO). Disclosures show that the two Sahara India Real Estate Corp. ₹Millions of investors violated SEBI rules through Rs 27,000 crore on optional fully convertible bonds (OFCD).
It's like a Jenga game. The neighborhood fell. The plan is a pyramid, probably the largest in the world. At its peak, the Sahara desert is the financial lifespan of 70 million investors, and when the plan is disbanded, most investors have nothing to do.
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In 2011, Sebi ordered the company to return the money. Roy refused to comply and even responded to a court subpoena. Finally, in 2014, two special benches, composed of Justices KS Radhakrishnan and JS Khehar, sent one of India's most gorgeous billionaires to prison.
Two years later, he was released on parole. Until he died in November 2023 at the age of 75, he continued to run his own business. However, the Sahara Empire never recovered. Just like the fate of investors’ money, its complete story may never be known.
