By Prashant Marathe | EduInvesting.in | 21 May 2025
🕵️ At a Glance:
Everyone knows Nirav Modi. Everyone memes Vijay Mallya. But Nitin Sandesara?
The man who allegedly pulled off a ₹15,000 crore scam, fled the country, and is STILL missing? Barely anyone talks about him.
This is the story of India’s most mysterious billionaire scammer. A man who ghosted banks, regulators, and even the headlines — like a masterclass in financial escapism.
🧬 Who Is Nitin Sandesara?
- Promoter of Sterling Biotech, once a BSE-listed pharma company
- Known for gelatin capsules, not Bitcoin or flashy jets
- Ran a network of companies: Sterling Biotech, Sterling SEZ, Sterling Port, Sterling Oil… basically a Sterling scam universe
🎭 Public Persona:
- Low-profile billionaire
- No Page 3 appearances
- Not even a decent paparazzi scandal. Just pure fraud.
🧨 The Scam: How to Launder ₹15,000 Crore Like a Pro
- Take Loans from 200+ Banks
- Yes, over 200 banks and NBFCs gave them money
- Even Andhra Bank, now merged, was a key lender
- Create Fake Shell Companies
- Dozens of benami firms, registered under employees’ names
- Round-tripped money as fake ‘expenses’ and ‘consulting’
- Forge Documents Like It’s a Hobby
- Bank statements, invoices, income tax filings — all fake
- Bribe Officials
- ED later revealed payoffs to tax officers and bankers
- One of their auditors was caught with ₹1 crore cash in a biscuit tin
✈️ The Great Escape
In 2017, when the heat began:
- Nitin Sandesara and brother Chetan fled India
- First to Dubai, then allegedly to Nigeria (where they have oil biz links)
- Most recently? Rumours suggest Albania or Eastern Europe
Despite:
- Interpol Red Corner Notice
- CBI & ED chargesheets
- Passport revocation
They’re still… free. Possibly sipping wine while watching Indian banks file affidavits.
📉 Impact on Banks
| Bank Name | Alleged Exposure |
|---|---|
| Andhra Bank | ₹5,000+ Cr |
| UCO Bank | ₹1,000 Cr |
| Union Bank | ₹900 Cr |
| Allahabad Bank | ₹1,100 Cr |
| Others (total) | ₹15,000+ Cr |
- NPAs ballooned
- Recovery? Minimal
- Bailouts? As always, paid by YOU (taxpayer bro).
🔥 Why Nobody Talks About It
- Too Complicated: No flashy watches or London mansions — just SEZs, oil rigs, and legalese
- Too Many Names: Not just one guy — it’s a family-run fraud dynasty
- Political Proximity: Alleged ties to powerful names meant media looked the other way
“Bhaiya yeh kya Nirav Modi type scam nahi hai?”
“Nahi beta, yeh documentary-worthy hai.”
👀 Timeline of Vanishing Act
| Year | What Happened |
|---|---|
| 2016 | ED begins probe |
| 2017 | Sandesaras flee India |
| 2018 | Interpol issues Red Notice |
| 2019 | ED attaches ₹9,000 Cr of assets |
| 2021 | Nigeria denies extradition |
| 2023 | Reports of Albania hiding |
| 2025 | Still no arrest. Still vibing abroad. |
🧠 EduInvesting Take:
India’s banking frauds are no longer about flashy lifestyles. They’re about boring-looking people with exciting spreadsheets.
- Sandesara didn’t wear snakeskin shoes — he wore Excel formulas.
- His toolkit? Dummy firms, fake invoices, and a VPN.
And guess what? It worked.
While RBI was issuing circulars and banks were issuing NOCs, Nitin bhai issued a boarding pass.
India lost ₹15,000 crore. And the man vanished like your salary on the 1st of the month.
💡 Final Thoughts:
We remember Mallya because he danced.
We remember Nirav because he had diamonds.
But the real scam lords? They operate quietly, beneath radar, behind 300 shell companies and 0 Instagram posts.
And until Indian regulators learn to spot them before the party ends — this cycle will never stop.
So the next time someone says “India has cleaned up its banking system”… just whisper:
“What about Sandesara?”
Tags: Nitin Sandesara, Sterling Biotech Scam, Bank Fraud India, Fugitive Billionaires, ED, CBI, Financial Crime, Missing Billionaires, EduInvesting Mystery Series
