MCA not proactive on crackdown, says Assocham

The chamber also took on the state govt for announcing a relief fund of Rs 500 cr

Assocham on Monday said the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was not proactive in handling the "chit fund" scam that had defrauded several thousand of depositors in West Bengal.

"It is not only surprising but intriguing that the massive money raised surely appeared somewhere on the balance sheets of the Saradha group of companies, which regularly filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The important and aggressive information as usual remained in the huge bundle of papers, shows the least proactive style of MCA and they (companies) continued to elude regulatory focus before tons of money vanished," Assocham said in a hard-hitting note.

The chamber also took on the state government for announcing a relief fund of Rs 500 crore, "a whip on the taxpayers' money,"+ it said.

"The Centre should call a meeting of all regulatory authorities immediately and work out a strategy to deal with such frauds on an ongoing basis," Assocham said.

On their part, the states should come down heavily on any company which promises exorbitant returns on deposits and fails to adhere to the regulations meticulously," Assocham said.