Crime branch seeks property confiscation of Saradha Group

In a bid to confiscate the properties of scam tainted Saradha Group, the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the crime branch of state police today handed over all documents relating to illegal operation of the company to the state finance department.

This is the second such move in last one week. Few days back, the crime branch sleuths had submitted voluminous documents on, Seashore Group, another chit fund company, to the state finance department seeking permission to confiscate the company’s properties under the newly-enacted Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act.

“We have submitted documents and a proposal for attachment of properties to the state finance department,” said a police official.

The Kolkata-based Saradha Group has allegedly duped thousands of investors in the state, especially in the Balasore district, where it had a dominant presence. The group owns 14 acre land in Balasore and Sambalpur districts.

The Crime Branch (CB) officers furnished a list of the properties and bank accounts of the company to the finance department.

It may be noted that in a letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Sudipta Sen, the chairman-cum-managing director of the Saradha Group, had hinted at serious financial scam in Odisha in which many market leaders had participated.

The state government has geared up to attach properties of unscrupulous financial companies, which have defrauded more than half a million depositors through collective investment schemes, after the framing of rules for Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act.

Four additional district judges of Cuttack, Balasore, Sambalpur and Berhampur have been declared as designated courts. The additional district magistrates (ADMs) of these four districts have been declared as the competent authorities empowered to take steps for attachment of properties. The Act contains extensive safeguards for protecting the small investors from the malpractices of fraudulent financial entities.

According to government estimates, more than 6.5 lakh people were duped of Rs 4,375 crore between January 2012 and June 2013 by several chit fund companies.