Fast-track court to deal chit fund fraud

Over 200 cases registered, investors' money may be returned in six months

Acting tough on fraudulent financial entities duping innocent investors, the Odisha government has decided to get these cases settled by a fast track court.

To expedite disposal of such cases, special prosecutors will be appointed.

"Cases of chit fund fraud will now be disposed off by a fast track court. The state government will enquire into alleged involvement of politicians, officials and journalists in the chit fund scam and whoever found guilty will  be punished. Properties of all fraudulent companies will be confiscated and depositors' money will be returned. We expect all this to happen in six months. The Bill passed by the state government to deal with cases of financial fraud is pending President's assent which we hope to get soon”, said finance minister Prasanna Acharya.

The Bill – Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishment) -2011 after obtaining the Presidential assent will enable the state to

 

initiate punitive action against the offenders.

The minister said, so far 180 cases have been registered against 85 companies and 176 people have been arrested for swindling money of innocent depositors. The fraud cases have been assessed to be worth Rs 138 crore.

That apart, the economic offences wing of Crime branch has lodged 27 cases against 24 companies for offences of a similar nature.

After the Saradha chit fund row, the state crime branch launched a probe into the company's money trail and sealed its offices at Balasore and Puri.

The crime branch had also conducted a massive crackdown earlier this month on 150 offices of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in 15 districts. The drive was meant to verify authenticity of their businesses, approvals from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and volume of investment as well as depositors amid large scale fraud.

Of late, Pradeep Sethi, chairman of city-based Artha Tatwa (AT) Group was nabbed and remanded to judicial custody on charges of duping small investors across different parts of the state.

Meanwhile, police has initiated action for confiscating assets of the AT Group.

"Through interrogation, we have come to know that there are 230 bank accounts of the AT Group. These accounts are with 12 different banks. We have issued orders for freezing of all these accounts”, said deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh.

In a similar development, the Crime branch on Saturday sealed the head office of the city-based Hi-Tech Group in land fraud case. Group promoter Tirupati Panigrahi and two of his associates have already been jailed on five different charges.