Victims of the Popular Finance scam, involving deposits worth Rs 2,000 crore, once took out protests, seeking their money back. The investors in the financial institution stood outside the collectorate in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, asking the state government to take initiative to sell the property of Popular Finance, and get their money back.

The accused in the case, including the owner of Popular Finance, Thomas Daniel, are in jail. The investors alleged that though the Kerala High Court had directed the state government to seize all properties of the accused and distribute money to the victims, the government hasn't taken any steps yet. Speaking to the media, a few protesters alleged that around 25 of them died of heart attack and suicide because of the issue.

On August 10 this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested key accused — Thomas Daniel, the managing director of the firm, and Rinu Mariam, his daughter and chief executive officer. They were arrested after six hours of questioning. There were reports that the accused deposited the money collected from various persons and deposited them abroad, in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The company had collected Rs 2,000 crore from 1,600 customers in and outside India. As per reports, they have invested money in Dubai and Australia, which the ED doubts were transferred through Hawala channels.

Last year, the Kerala police had arrested Thomas Daniel and his family members. They were later out on bail when ED arrested them. Earlier, in November 2020, the Kerala High Court had handed over the investigation in the 1,368 financial fraud cases involving Popular Finance to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Popular Finance is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) based in Ranni of Pathanamthitta, functioning since 1965. It has branches across Kerala, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. A few branches were reportedly closed following the scam.