Chit funds are still operating in Bengal: Minister

West Bengal consumer affairs minister Sadhan Pande today said small chit fund companies were still operating in rural Bengal and stressed on creating awareness among people on the issue.
"Small chit funds are still operating in rural Bengal and are cheating poor people. We still get so many complaints. People should be made aware of their existence so that people don't fall in their trap," Pande said while addressing a programme here.
Pande urged the central financial agencies who seized property of Saradha Chit Fund to take steps so that the defrauded investors got back their money.
Pande said that the seized assets of Sudipto Sen should be put up for auction so that money could be retrieved and given back to the investors.

"Our appeal to everybody is please don't invest in any such financial scheme or service which are not approved by SEBI, RBI," he said.
After the Saradha bubble burst in April, 2013, several Ponzi schemes and chit fund companies had to wind up their operations as central and state agencies cracked the whip amid protests by lakhs of defrauded investors.
According to the consumer affairs department, these chit funds are operating at such a small level that at times it becomes tough even for the local administration to locate them.