There are countless success stories of entrepreneurs building successful businesses from scratch and changing their destiny, but there are also those who make grave mistakes and commit serious financial crimes to make a quick buck which ultimately result in their downfall. One such story is that of CR Subramanian, once a renowned engineer, banker and entrepreneur, who is now serving a 20-year prison term after being convicted of financial fraud.
An IIM graduate and an IIT Madras alumnus, CR Subramanian is an engineer and banker, who founded his first company, Viswapriya, a firm that offered financial services, in May 1991. Viswapriya turned out to be a successful venture, attracting major investors with its enticing schemes, and marked Subramanian’s foray into the business world.
Six years later, in 1997, Subramanian launched his flagship company, Subhiksha, a retail chain that witnessed a rapid expansion, and soon grew to over 1,600 outlets across India. However, Subramanian’s life took a drastic turn when it surfaced that he had defrauded hundreds of investors by redirecting their funds to shell companies.
In November 2023, a special court in Chennai, Tamil Nadu found him guilty of defrauding hundreds of investors, and sentenced him to 20 years in jail. In its ruling, the court determined that CR Subramanian he had diverted the assets of his investors through a network of shell companies.
According to reports, Subramanian has failed to make any voluntary deposits over the past 10 years and has defaulted on over Rs 137 crore owed to depositors across all programs. Apart from the prison term, the court has also slapped a Rs 8.92 crore fine on Subramanian, and imposed a collective fine of Rs 191.98 crore on his companies, out of which Rs 180 crore has been earmarked for compensating the affected depositors.
As per the court order, these compensation funds, once received by the defaulters, will be transferred to an authorized organization, which will review the documentation submitted by impacted investors and distribute the funds accordingly.
As many as 587 investors of Subramaniam are still awaiting reimbursement of their losses.
