Kautilya Nandan Pruthi Charged Criminally In $173 Million Ponzi Case After Probe By London Police

Last month, a  court in the United Kingdom ordered Kautilya Nandan Pruthi to pay more than $135 million to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for his role in an alleged Ponzi scheme that gathered the U.S. equivalent of $173 million. The FSA is the British equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Two others accused civilly of unlawfully accepting deposits were ordered to pay more than $37.3 million.

Now Pruthi has been charged criminally in the case, which is believed to the Britain’s largest Ponzi scheme. The charges were announced by the Crown Prosecution Service Central Fraud Group after an investigation by the London Police Department.

Pruthi has been charged with participating in a fraudulent business contrary to section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006; 22 counts of fraud contrary to section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006; five counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception contrary to section 15A of the Theft Act 1968; unauthorised regulated activity contrary to sections 19 and 23 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; and concealing, disguising, converting, transferring and removing criminal property contrary to section 327 and 334 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The prosecution labeled the charges “serious offences,” saying they “relate to Mr Pruthi’s activities between 25 August 2005 and 10 June 2009.”

FSA said last month that it intervened last year to stop the scheme from mushrooming further, adding that victims are not apt to recover much despite the judgment against Pruthi and the others. London police said some of the victims did not want to believe they had been defrauded.

The Crown Prosecution Service prosecutes criminal cases investigated by police in England and Wales.