The rise and fall of Sabarinath tells the story of a master swindler who pocketed money from a wide spectrum of investors, ranging from top bureaucrats and politicians to ordinary people, and built a multi-crore business empire, all at the age of just 21.

According to the police, the youth from Thiruvananthapuram district, who had attended a flight stewards’ course before venturing into the money-chain business, had swindled Rs 500 crore from investors. The police have so far obtained a list of 700 depositors. He owned 18 cars, including a BMW, and had helped several hawala dealers and fake currency racketeers to launder their money. During his 20-month-long conning spree the youth rubbed shoulders with politicians and filmstars. Arrested by the Thiruvananthapuram police last week, Sabarinath is now under judicial custody.

Sabarinath’s growth to the stature of a con king began two years ago when he opened Nest Investment Solutions with the help of one Chandramathi, then employed as a general manager with a public sector firm here. Nest operated on a money-chain model and offered 25 to 30 per cent interest for deposits, that too within a month. To win the confidence of investors, Sabarinath kept his word in the initial months and paid investors the promised rate. That strategy paid off and Sabarinath became the money-making mantra for a new crop of investors in south Kerala.

As business grew, he appointed 70 deposit collectors, who managed to fetch hundreds of crores of rupees from investors. In the meantime, the young entrepreneur opened two more firms — I Nest and Total 4 U. When money from gullible investors flowed in, an ecstatic Sabarinath announced a Rs 1,500-crore tourism project, Total City, in a Thiruvananthapuram village.

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