The Forgotten Investors

Future Group’s fixed deposits scheme has betrayed India’s elderly savers.

In one of the most overlooked financial betrayals of recent years, thousands of retail investors - many of them senior citizens - have been left devastated and voiceless after investing their life savings in fixed deposits offered by Future Enterprises Ltd., part of the once-reputed Future Group, the company behind Big Bazaar and other major Indian retail chains.

Between 2019 and early 2021, Future Group aggressively marketed fixed deposit schemes, offering up to 10.2 percent interest to senior citizens - an attractive option during a time of falling bank interest rates. Backed by the brand name of one of India’s largest retail conglomerates, these deposits seemed like a safe and lucrative choice for many. What followed was nothing short of a financial disaster.

Just months after collecting substantial funds from the public, Future Group began collapsing under the weight of its own mismanagement and debt burden. By 2022, it entered the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Since then, thousands of depositors, especially senior citizens, have been left in limbo, battling a legal maze, only to now be informed that they will receive a mere 2 percent of their principal amount as part of the “resolution plan.”

To put it in perspective: On a Rs. 5 lakh FD, a depositor will receive just Rs. 10,000. After more than three years of waiting, all they have received is uncertainty and shattered hope.

What is most concerning is not just the loss but the complete lack of accountability.

Why was Future Group allowed to raise public deposits when it was already under financial stress? Why didn’t regulators like SEBI, RBI, or the Ministry of Corporate Affairs intervene or flag the risk? Why was there no requirement for an FD reserve fund or third-party guarantee to protect retail investors? Where is the audit trail that shows how the FD money was used, and by whom?

There have been no answers, just a deafening silence from regulatory bodies and indifference from the very system that was supposed to protect investors. This reeks of regulatory negligence, poor corporate governance and perhaps even wilful fraud.

It is no coincidence that senior citizens were aggressively targeted with higher interest rates. Many of them invested large chunks of their retirement funds, pensions, or savings meant for medical emergencies or end-of-life security.

Some were retired school teachers, widows, and pensioners who lived on limited incomes and saw this as a rare opportunity to earn better interest. They trusted a well-known brand and never imagined they would be caught in a trap set by corporate greed and loopholes in law.

Today, many of them do not even have the means or stamina to fight legal battles. And tragically, some have passed away waiting for justice.

Despite the sheer scale of this financial wipeout, the mainstream media has largely remained silent. Why hasn’t this story been covered widely? Why hasn’t the government been questioned? Why is there no national outrage when thousands of lives are affected?

If this had been a bank collapse or a stock market fraud, it would have made headlines. But just because it happened quietly, through ‘corporate deposits,’ it is being conveniently buried under legal jargon and bankruptcy clauses.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) was meant to bring corporate discipline but in many cases, it has become a legal shield for companies to default with impunity. Under the resolution plan, secured creditors like banks and institutional lenders are prioritized while retail depositors are treated as expendable, receiving crumbs and often after years of delays and no interest. The 2 percent payout being offered to FD holders is not only insulting but morally and ethically indefensible.

This is a wake-up call for India’s financial and legal ecosystem. Retail FD investors must be treated as priority stakeholders in insolvency cases, especially when they are individuals and senior citizens. The RBI and MCA must introduce stricter controls and public disclosures for companies offering public fixed deposits. A dedicated redressal and compensation mechanism must be created for depositors caught in insolvency cases.

The media and civil society must raise their voice on behalf of those who cannot as this is no mere business failure but a moral one. As citizens, journalists, and fellow human beings, we must ensure this does not go unheard. These investors deserve more than 2 percent. They deserve their money, their dignity and above all justice.

(The writer is a senior business systems analyst specializing in strategic business solutions. Views personal.)