London, July 31: An Indian origin businessman has been charged for spearheading Britain's biggest Ponzi fraud,cheating investors,including a former England cricketer, of 115-million-pounds.

According to the Daily Express,Kautilya Nandan Pruthi's victims include former England cricketer Darren Gough,singer Jerome Flynn and other celebrities.

Gough is a former winner of TV’s Strictly Come Dancing talent contest. Cricket star Kevin Pietersen was approached to take part in the scheme but decided not to.

Pruthi,39,who ran Business Consulting International, was arrested in July last year with two other men. The move followed a painstaking investigation by the City of London Police.

Luxury cars including two Ferraris, two Bentleys,a Lamborghini,a Rolls-Royce and a Maserati were seized. Another million pounds worth of assets, including jewellery and watches,as well as 250,000 pounds cash,has also been seized.

BCI was run from rented offices in Knightsbridge,central London,and had around 600 clients on its books.

The Crown Prosecution Service central fraud group announced charges against Pruthi on Thursday.

They include 22 counts of fraud,five of obtaining a money transfer by deception,and unauthorised financial activity. He is also accused of money laundering by “concealing,disguising,converting,transferring and removing criminal property contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2002”.

The charges relate to his alleged activities between August 25,2005, and June 10,2009.

Pruthi will appear at City of London Magistrates Court on September 3.

What is Ponzi?

The word Ponzi comes from Charles Ponzi, an American-Italian, who in the year 1919, promised to double investors money in 45 days. What he essentially did was to create an illusion of a successful business by using the money brought in by new investors to pay off the old investors. Essentially the capital of the scheme was used to pay interest as well as repay the money invested.