Parliament panel wants punishment for unregulated deposit schemes

A parliamentary panel Thursday suggested strengthening penal provisions in the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill to protect the interest of investors.

The Bill proposes to ban deposit takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme.

The Bill also recommends punishment for promoting or operating an unregulated deposit-taking scheme and also stringent punishment for fraudulent default in repayment to depositors.

The committee, in its report tabled in Parliament, has recommended "that all the offences under this Bill should be made cognisable and non-bailable and the same should be clearly mentioned in the Bill".

The 31-member panel is headed