SAGA Group Ponzi Scheme: Rs 10,000 Crore Fraud Across India
The SAGA Group Scam: How Sameer Agrawal's Rs 10,000 Crore Ponzi Empire Cheated Investors Across India
Behind the promise of doubled and tripled returns, gift cars, and the comfort of a "cooperative society" structure, the SAGA Group built one of India's largest recent Ponzi schemes — collecting money from ordinary depositors across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Punjab. At the centre of the scheme was Sameer Agrawal, who investigators say has since fled the country, leaving behind tens of thousands of defrauded investors and a trail of shell companies.
Who Is Sameer Agrawal?
Sameer Agarwal, son of Rajendra Agarwal, is a resident of Mumbai who is now reportedly based in Dubai. He established the organisation known as SAGA in 2016, under which nine separate cooperative societies were formed. Within this structure, Sameer Agrawal has been described by investigators as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director and principal controller of the SAGA Group.
How the SAGA Network Was Structured
The SAGA network operated through several affiliated societies, each assigned to different regions: LUCC, whose business covered Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand; LJCC, which once operated in Madhya Pradesh; SSV, based in Maharashtra; SS, which operated in Gujarat and Rajasthan; For Human, active in Bihar and Haryana; and Vishwas, which worked in Punjab. Other individuals linked to the operation included RK Seddi, described as a finance advisor, Sanjay Mudgil as a trainer, and Parikshit Parsi as legal advisor.
The flagship entity, LUCC (Loni Urban Multi-State Credit & Thrift Co-operative Society), had origins that predate Sameer Agrawal's involvement. LUCC was originally registered in 2012 as a Multi-State Co-operative Society by an individual named Vajid Khan with the Central Registrar of Societies. Sameer Agrawal took over its management in 2016 and installed a new Board of Directors. Although the formal No Objection Certificate for LUCC's operations in Uttarakhand was only issued by the state's Registrar of Societies in 2017, the group had already begun operating illegally in the state from 2016 onward.
The Scheme: How Money Was Collected
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), since 2009 the public was fraudulently induced to invest in recurring deposit, fixed deposit, and monthly income schemes promoted by the Sameer Agarwal (SAGA) Group. Investors were promised high, assured returns, with claims that their money would be doubled or tripled within three to five years, along with incentives such as cars — despite there being no genuine underlying business activity capable of generating such returns.
Using what the ED described as fake banking infrastructure combined with promises of unrealistic returns, the SAGA group fraudulently collected more than Rs 10,000 crore from the public. Early investors were given certain payouts to build trust and credibility, but most of the money collected was ultimately siphoned off by Sameer Agrawal and his associates for personal gain and to fund market commissions used to recruit further investors.
Because LUCC had no genuine business, income, or profit, the maturity payments due to depositors were funded using fresh deposits collected from new investors — the defining structure of a Ponzi scheme.
The Scale of the Fraud
In Uttarakhand alone, investigators found an unprecedented scale of victimisation, with more than a lakh (100,000) investors lured into LUCC's various unregulated deposit schemes, and total deposits collected in the state estimated at approximately Rs 800 crore. After accounting for partial repayments made to some depositors, investigators estimated the actual fraud amount in Uttarakhand alone at over Rs 400 crore.
Beyond Uttarakhand, the group's reach extended much further. Separately, five cases were registered against the LUCC Society in Kotwali Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, in 2024, with a similar case registered in Madhya Pradesh. A related probe by Uttarakhand police also uncovered a Rs 189 crore fraud linked to a fake cooperative society tied to hawala trade.
How Funds Were Diverted
The ED found that funds were collected from the public predominantly in cash, and were funnelled through regional cash-chests before being siphoned off by the promoters for investment in both movable and immovable assets, domestically and abroad, using shell companies and hawala channels. Search investigations by the agency revealed an elaborate network of more than 50 shell entities controlled by operators identified by the Directorate. The CBI has separately alleged that Sameer Agrawal diverted funds through 10 shell firms as part of the scheme.
The Investigation and Legal Action
Multiple agencies at both the state and central level have pursued the case. The ED initiated its investigation based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by police authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and other states against LUCC and its affiliated group of cooperative societies.
The CBI has since taken over major elements of the investigation. On July 10, 2026, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 18 accused persons and one entity in the LUCC chit fund case before the Special Court under the BUDS Act in Dehradun. Those named in the chargesheet include Sameer Agrawal, Shadab Husain, Uttam Kumar Singh Rajpoot, Sania Agrawal, Maya Singh Rajpoot, Jitendra Singh Niranjan, Dinesh Singh, Girish Chand Singh Bisht, Urmila Bisht, Jagmohan Bisht, Mamta Bhandari, Tarun Kumar Maurya, Gaurav alias Gaurav Rohilla, Sushil Gokharoo, Kishanlal Udaylal Jain, Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, and Rajendra Singh Bisht, alongside the LUCC society itself.
The CBI has identified 39 properties linked to the accused for attachment, and seven of the accused are currently in judicial custody.
On the enforcement side, the ED has made provisional attachment of assets under two separate Provisional Attachment Orders, arrested a key functionary of the group, Ravi Shankar Tiwari, on July 14 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court on July 24.
Latest Development: ED's Four-Day Search Operation (August 13–16, 2026)
In the most recent escalation of the case, the ED carried out search operations continuously over four consecutive days, from August 13 to August 16, 2026, at multiple residential and business premises linked to Sameer Agarwal and his associates across Mumbai and Bhopal. The operation was conducted by ED's headquarters unit at the national level under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.
The searches led to a significant haul of assets and evidence. The agency seized a large volume of incriminating documents and froze proceeds of crime worth more than Rs 30 crore, comprising listed shares and securities, mutual funds, LIC policies, and bank balances, along with nine high-end vehicles. In addition, the ED seized cash amounting to Rs 1.53 crore, foreign currency worth about Rs 35 lakh, and gold jewellery and silver bullion valued at Rs 5.25 crore.
Despite the scale of this action, Sameer Agrawal — described by the ED as the CMD and principal controller of the SAGA Group — remains abroad and continues to be treated as absconding. The August raid signals that both the ED and CBI investigations remain active and are continuing to expand the trail of assets linked to the group, even as its founder stays beyond the reach of Indian authorities.
Sameer Agrawal's Whereabouts
Sameer Agrawal, described by investigators as the CMD and principal controller of the SAGA Group, has left the country and is currently absconding. The CBI alleges he later fled abroad along with his wife, Sania Agrawal, who has also been named in the chargesheet, and notices have been issued in an effort to secure their return to India.
Why the Case Matters
The SAGA Group case follows a familiar pattern seen in earlier Indian cooperative-society Ponzi scandals, such as the Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society and the Pearls Group cases — the use of a multi-state cooperative society structure to appear legitimate and regulator-approved, aggressive agent-driven recruitment promising unrealistic guaranteed returns, and eventual collapse once new deposits could no longer cover old obligations. With losses estimated at over Rs 10,000 crore across several states, including Madhya Pradesh, the case stands as one of the largest cooperative-society Ponzi frauds uncovered in India in recent years, and investigations by both the CBI and ED remain ongoing.
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*This article is based on publicly reported information from sources.*
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