The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) CID of Tamil Nadu registered 616 financial fraud cases over the past 10 years and arrested 3,056 people. According to an RTI reply, they have recovered ₹990.28 crore so far. This money has been distributed among 5,79,840 investors who lost their funds in these schemes. The cases were filed under Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors Act 1997, the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019, the Indian Penal Code, and other laws. The roots of these frauds go back decades. In 1996, the Chennai Police’s Central Crime Branch got complaints against Sneham Finance and its 20 subsidiaries for cheating about 6,000 depositors of ₹10 crore. Soon after, the Eswari Group was found to have cheated nearly 12,000 investors out of ₹27.5 crore. Several other firms like Anubhav, GNS Nidhi, Devi Gold House, and Royapettah Benefit Fund also defrauded depositors. To tackle rising frauds, Tamil Nadu passed the Protection of Interests of Depositors Act in 1997, becoming the first state in India to do so. A special court was set up for speedy trials, and the Economic Offences Wing was formed in January 2000 to handle such cases. Since then, the EOW has arrested multiple fraudsters, seized gold, vehicles, frozen bank accounts, and properties. It now works across 34 of Tamil Nadu’s 38 districts with over 400 staff. Between 2015 and 2025, Chennai alone saw 179 fraud cases with 682 arrests and ₹592 crore recovered for 5,23,305 depositors. However, some districts like Tiruvallur and Thanjavur still await refunds. Notably, no fraud cases were registered in Thoothukudi and Ranipet from 2015 to 2025. This data sheds light on the ongoing battle against financial frauds in Tamil Nadu.