Harshad Mehta

Harshad Shantilal Mehta (29 July 1954 – 31 December 2001) was an Indian stockbroker and convicted fraudster. Mehta's involvement in the 1992 Indian securities scam (amouting to ₹30,000 crore (equivalent to ₹2.3 trillion or US$24 billion in 2023) led him to gain infamy for market manipulation. Of the 27 criminal charges brought against Mehta, he was convicted of only four before his death by sudden heart attack at age 47 in 2001. It was alleged that Mehta engaged in a massive stock manipulation scheme financed by worthless bank receipts, which his firm brokered for "ready forward" transactions between banks. Mehta was convicted by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India for his part in a financial scandal valued at ₹100 billion (US$1.0 billion) which took place on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The scandal exposed the loopholes in the Indian banking system and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) transaction system, and consequently the Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced new rules to address those loopholes. He was on trial for 9 years, until he died at the end of 2001 from a heart attack.