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Chit Fund Scams
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has arrested a father-son duo in Kolkata in an alleged Rs 2,800 crore worth chit fund scam linked money laundering case. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent Basudeb Bagchi and his son Avik Bagchi, promoters of Prayag Group of companies, to ten days of ED custody, it said in a statement. The premises of the two and some others in Kolkata and Mumbai were raided by the ED on November 26. The two are accused of "defrauding" the public by collecting deposits worth Rs 2,800 crore under "false" high-return schemes like monthly income schemes (MIS), redeemable preference shares and club membership certificates. As of now, the ED said, Rs 1,900 crore remains "unpaid" to investors. The Prayag Group of companies operated "illegally" without necessary authorisations from regulatory bodies like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), affecting lakhs of investors across multip
For the past decade, 52-year-old Rishin Majumdar has been working two shifts, trying to repay a hefty Rs 30 lakh loan he took out to compensate the investors of Saradha group, where he once served as an agent. "After the Saradha group collapsed in 2013, people who invested money through me wanted it back. I was beaten, and even my family members were not spared. I was then forced to take a Rs 30 lakh loan from a local money lender. I lost Rs five lakh in the chit fund," Majumdar said. His story is a familiar one among lakhs of people who fell victim to the multi-crore chit fund scams that rocked West Bengal in 2013. As corruption scandals like school recruitment scams take centre stage in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, the enduring and hopeful victims of the 2013 chit fund scamsone of the state's largest financial scandals since independenceare still waiting for justice after more than ten years. The chit fund scam of Bengal saw several companies, most notably the Saradha Grou
Renowned magician PC Sorcar (Junior) was on Friday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged chit fund fraud in which investors were duped of more than Rs 790 crore, an officer said. Soon after Sorcar reached the ED office in Salt Lake on Friday afternoon the ED officers started questioning him in connection with the scam allegedly involving two companies identified by the central agencies as Pincon Group and Tower Infotech Ltd, he said. "We are questioning Mr Sorcar in connection with the chit fund case. We have to find out whether he was involved in any way or not," the ED officer told PTI. A few days ago the ED took into custody a senior official of the Tower Group and during grilling him Sorcar's name had surfaced, the official said. In 2021 the CBI had searched the magician's Ballygunge residence in connection with the same case.
Aimed at financially protecting chit fund companies' subscribers amid alleged scams, the Andhra Pradesh government on Monday introduced an electronic service delivery system, e-Chits' to regulate and usher in transparency in the sector. Commissioner and Inspector General, Registration and Stamps, V Ramakrishna said the initiative through which transactions can be done only online, will enable the registration department officials to verify subscribers and only then give approval. "This policy helps prevent fraud by chit fund companies and avoid loss to subscribers," Ramakrishna told PTI on Monday, adding that the app will also ensure that subscribers know which registered companies are operating in the chit fund business. Subscribers can verify whether a chit run by a company is registered with the authorities or not, he said, including enabling them to enquire about the registered chits directly from regulating officials such as the assistant registrar of chits located at each ...