Indian Conglomerate Tata Warns Of Tata-Branded Ponzi Scheme

A massive Indian conglomerate that operates over 100 separate companies worldwide has issued a public warning to consumers that a British Virgin Islands company has been wrongfully using the "Tata" company name and soliciting investors for an alleged Ponzi scheme promising monthly returns of up to 100%.  Tata Group, which operates in over 80 countries and is perhaps best known for its Tata Motors automobile company, warned investors that a British Virgin Islands entity, Tata Agro Holding Ltd., had been touting its affiliation with the Indian conglomerate as it solicited investors.  Tata Group issued a strongly-worded denial disavowing any connection between it and Tata Agro, and indicated that it had taken unspecified action to prevent any further confusion.

According to Tata Group, the BVI entity had been soliciting investors on several platforms, including an online website at tataagro.com.  While the website is currently down, a cached version of the website is available here.  The company is alleged to solicited investments ranging from $5 to up to $10,000, promising daily returns ranging from 1.9% to 3.1% that increased commensurate with the size of the investment.  Tata Agro advertised itself as an agricultural investment company that claimed to be in the business of "assets (sic) management through wheat and corn futures trading on stock exchanges."  The company claimed it was a subsidiary of Tata Group, and represented that it had been engaged in the agricultural investment business since 2001.  

Investors were also encouraged to participate in the company's "referral program," which promised commissions for first, second, and third-level referrals attributable to the investor.  To convince investors of the legitimacy of the scheme, Tata Agro advertised that Amit N Dalal, who currently serves as the executive director of Tata Investment Corporation Ltd., was the President and CEO of Tata Agro.  

At this time, further information is not available concerning the potential number of investors or value of investments in Tata Agro or any criminal or regulatory action taken against the company.