)
Some 10,000 agents gathered near West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence near Kalighat on Friday, seeking the state government’s intervention in the payment crisis surrounding the Saradha group.
The Saradha Group has been raising money from small investors—that range from domestic helps to small traders— since 2008, but last week, thousands of depositors were left in the lurch when the promoter made a quiet exit from an anticipated scene of action. A visibly worried Mithu Saha from Ultadanga says she can’t go home as depositors are knocking her doors day and night for their money.
Among the most wanted persons are Kunal Ghosh and Sudipto Sen. Incidentally, the intelligence bureau on Friday issued a look-out notice for Sen. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said yesterday that Sen was hiding somewhere in North India and would be arrested soon. Kunal Ghosh is a Trinamool Congress member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He used to oversee the media business of the Saradha Group.
“Our anger is towards two people-- Kunal Ghosh and Sudipto Sen. Ghosh has been drawing a hefty salary, making overseas trips at our expense,” says Romel Bose, one the agents of Saradha.
Ghosh, however, on Friday absolved himself from all responsibilities. “I was a salaried employee of their media unit. I was never a director or owner. I was connected with media wing only. I was never connected with any other aspect of the business of the Saradha group. I was not connected with the Saradha group when it ventured into media. Sudipto Sen started the media business on his own accord and his own team,” he said.
As far as Sudipto Sen is concerned, his public image is somewhat better.
“Sen was a very warm and gentle person. He donated hundreds of ambulances that helped people in Naxal-affected areas. Maybe, it all was a farce,” says Subhajit Haldar from Kestopur. Haldar is on the verge of tears, with as much Rs 25 crore due for maturity over the next few years.
Saradha used to raise money as advances for its real estate and travel agency under three schemes: fixed deposit, monthly income and recurring deposits. Almost all agents are depositors, with the company working on the principal of referral marketing.
New Year shocker
Ramadeb Ghosh, an agent, spoke to Sen last on April 15, the Bengali New Year. He had hardly anticipated that it was just the beginning of his ordeal.
Agents, employees and contractors at the company were told to come to office after 15th of April to collect payments.
“Sen said he is taking steps to avert the crisis, but the sale of land and other properties would take some time. Even with so much money at stake, we believed him,” says Ghosh. But his phone has been switched off since then.
It is quite the same for employees. “I joined as a class D staff about four months ago, but over the last three months, I did not get any salary,” says Rajib Saha at the Salt Lake office of Saradha.
The crisis at Saradha has been brewing since January this year. Agents were asked to make payments through fresh collections, as the company was unable to redeem the money.
Several members of the staff at Saradha too were not getting salary. Sen had apparently told his agents that one of his projects was stuck, which has led to some crisis in payment.
The agents’ association of the company has estimated the value of assets held by Sen at Rs 500 crore. About Rs 120 crore is estimated to be outstanding for maturity through deposits raised by the company. The association is planning to form a fund, with contributions from agents and other related stakeholders, to meet the immediate maturity proceeds of the company, according to a member of the association.
Meanwhile, the association, along with other stakeholders are exploring the possibility of forming a trustee board, which will take over the company, said one of the members of the association.
The state government, on its part, is looking for possible investors who can take over the company. The long wait continues till then.
