In what could come as big relief to investors duped by Ponzi schemes such as Saradha, the government on Friday said it was amending the law to provide compensation to them.
"The government has provided and made amendments in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which after the full passage of the Finance Bill, will enable for the 'restitution' of assets to those investors whose assets and monies have been fraudulently cheated away by chit fund or ponzi schemes," Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.
Thousands of crores of rupees are stuck in such schemes.Recently as Central Bureau of Investigation Director Anil Sinha had said that Rs 80,000 crore of 60 million investors was locked in such scams probed by the agency.
"Talking about Ponzi schemes, a very important component in the Finance Bill has been not highlighted adequately... the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attaches and confiscates the assets involved in a Ponzi scheme (during its money laundering probe against perpetrators of such scams) but we have to also think about the small, innocent and poor investor," Das said.
People in rural India got carried away by the promise of some handsome returns under these schemes, he said while speaking at an event organised by the ED here.
