ED attaches Rs 1.66 cr assets in ponzi scam case in Jharkhand

Assets worth Rs 1.66 crore have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in connection with an alleged chit fund or ponzi scam case in Jharkhand, the ED said on Friday.

The case pertains to cheating and siphoning off the public money by alluring gullible investors of offering handsome returns periodically on their investment.

The scam was allegedly perpetrated by a group of people "conspiring" with other accused to cheat investors by developing a software in the name of a company, DJN Commodities, for offline trading.

"The attached assets include immovable and movable properties held in the name of Jeetendra Mohan, Vishal Kumar Sinha, Prashant Kumar, DJN Jewellers, Ram Kishun Thakur and sister concerns of DJN group," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a statement.

"DJN Commodities was registered with MCX, Mumbai, under proprietorship of Sinha.

"Subsequently, DJN Commodities collected public deposits in the name of online trading with a promise to offer handsome returns at high rate of interest on monthly basis," the ED alleged.

Instead of giving returns to investors, it said, the accused persons indulged in money circulation activity and fraudulently gave a rosy picture to the depositor about the sound financial health of the company.

"The accused indulged in running ingenious scheme of recurring deposits in jewellery shops to dupe innocent investors of their hard-earned money," the probe agency claimed.

The immovable properties attached provisionally by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are located in Garhwa, Latehar and Ranchi districts of Jharkhand.

The movable properties are in the form of bank balances worth Rs 5.73 lakh in fourteen bank accounts and five vehicles worth Rs 59.57 lakh, the ED said.

The total value of the attached assets is Rs 1.66 crore, it added.

The ED initiated a probe in the case on the basis of a charge sheet field by the state police against the accused and investigation is on, it said.