Pallav Sheth Scam: Harshad Mehta rose to prominence in the 1990s as a result of the success of Scam 1992. His alleged scandal is said to have cost banks tens of thousands of crores.
While the success of the series put Harshad in the spotlight, even twenty years after his death, it also brought attention to other characters in the series, such as Pallav Sheth. Read the full story about Scam 1992 here.
However, the character is more likely to be based on another person entirely – a Mumbai-based stockbroker named Pallav Sheth. Let's get into the article and learn more about the Pallav Sheth Scam. Pallav Sheth, Who Is He, and What Was the Pallav Sheth Scam?
Pallav Sheth made crores by rigging the share price of one Indian Tobacco Company or ITC Ltd in the 1990s, according to Sucheta Dalal's book The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, and Who Got Away.
The sheer size and scope of Harshad Mehta's alleged scam demonstrated that he would be unable to operate independently and without the assistance of both insiders and his own team.
Harshad believed in sharing his profits, so he assembled a team of Mumbai-based stockbrokers who would receive insider information before the rest of the market and make buy and sell calls, reaping millions of dollars from the trades.
One of the stock brokers was Pallav Sheth. Harshad Mehta and Pallav Sheth
Harshad Mehta was accused of price rigging using inside information, inflating company share prices by purchasing large quantities of shares with bank loans.
He inflated the share price of ACC (Associated Cement Company) by purchasing large amounts, driving the share price from 200 to 9,000 per share. Return on investment of 4,400%
When he used to make such large bets on stock market shares, it is alleged that he did not do so entirely for himself. He would share information about stocks with his elite team of brokers, who could make a fortune just off the information he provided. Read more on: Pallav Sheth Scam
