Govt clears bill to tighten noose around unregulated deposit schemes

The Bill provides severe punishment and heavy pecuniary fines

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared amendments to the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Bill, 2018, to check illicit deposit schemes. Deposit takers will now be banned from promoting, operating, or advertising an unregulated scheme, said Law and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after the Cabinet meeting.

This comes barely a day after the resolution of an imbroglio between the Centre and the West Bengal government over the process followed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its probe into the Saradha ponzi scam. 

“The principle is that the Bill would ban unregulated deposits altogether, by making them