Rise nd Fall of CR Subramanian: The story of businessman CR Subramanian is no less than a Bollywood movie in which a man achieved success but later loses everything ending up in jail. Subramanian studied in prestigious institutes like IIT and IIM. He proved his talent in sectors like engineering banking and business. While studying at IIT he dreamt big and after completing his studies he did everything it took to fulfil those dreams. He went to such an extent to turn his dreams into reality that today he is spending his life in jail. Lets know the story of C.R. Subramanian. 587 Investors Raised Over Rs 137 Crore In 1991 after completing his studies Subramanian started his first company named Vishwapriya Financial Services. The NBFC company promised to give people a better return on their investments than other companies. The company started several schemes to attract as many investors as possible. Schemes such as Prime Invest Asset Backed Security Bond Liquid Plus and Safety Plus were quite popular among investors. As per reports 587 investors invested more than Rs 137 crore in Vishwapriya. Retail Chain Subhiksha After Vishwapriya Financial Services Subramanian started a retail chain – Subhiksha in Chennai in the year 1997. The company dealt in grocery items fruits vegetables medicines and mobile phones. Subhksha which started with an investment of USD 1 million promising low price and high sales quickly became popular and spread across the country. Its stores were opened even in small cities and towns. By October 2008 Subhiksha had 1600 stores across the country. Gradually the company became one of the largest retail companies in the country. Subramaniams business got investments from big investors like Azim Premji ICICI Ventures and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The Money Game Subramanian had raised money from investors through Vishwapriya. To expand Subhiksha he used Vishwapriya’s tremendous marketing competition and personal contracts. People were lured with 15 to 20 percent returns through brokers. Money was taken from investors and invested in Subhiksha without their knowledge. Money was taken from new investors and given to old investors. People had no clue from where the money was coming. But the flow had increased the trust of investors. All went well until 2008. After this Subhiksha started facing a cash crunch. Employees salaries and PF were not paid. The dues of the companies supplying the goods continued to increase. To address the situation Subramaniam began diverting investors money by creating more than 80 shell companies. He was accused of cheating investors and Subhiksha was shut down in 2009. In 2015 the Economic Offences Wing registered a case against Subramaniam. Investigation revealed that he did not repay the loan of Rs 77 crore of Bank of Baroda. In 2018 the ED arrested Subramaniam on charges of money laundering. 20 Years Of Imprisonment A Chennai court convicted Subramaniam on November 20 2023 for defrauding investors. He misused investor funds via shell companies failing to return over 137 crore rupees belonging to 587 individuals. The court sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment and levied an 8.92 crore rupee fine against him and a 191.98 crore rupee fine against his companies. 180 crore rupees of this will be used to compensate victims with a designated agency tasked with processing claims and distributing the funds.