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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday conducted raids across 28 locations in Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati and in Odisha, including the office and residence of former minister Matang Sinh, in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam.
Searches were also carried out at the official and residential premises of former Indian Police Service officer Rajat Majumdar, East Bengal club official Debabrata Sarkar and former journalist Manoranjana Sinh. The residence of Saradha promoter Sudipta Sen was also searched.
So far, the CBI has registered 48 cases in the Saradha chit fund scam, bringing under its lens regulatory body such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the corporate affairs ministry, though none of these have been named in any of the first information reports (FIRs). The agency has named Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh, along with Sudipta Sen, in one of the FIRs.
Four FIRs have been filed against the Saradha Group. These have alleged thousands of investors were allegedly duped by company officials and their associates, who swindled their deposits.
In May, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI to probe the Rs 10,000-crore Saradha scam and asked state governments to provide all logistic help to the agency, in this regard. The CBI’s focus is on the “larger conspiracy” in the scam by Saradha group companies. While the scam spans across three states —Assam, Odisha and West Bengal — CBI sleuths feel the major culprits are based in West Bengal.
The investigation has indicated the money collected from the public was spread across 160 companies and spent or siphoned off; no major revenue was generated by any group company. In its order, the Supreme Court said, “A huge gap between the amount collected and the investments made in real estate calls for effective investigation on the trail of money collected by the group of companies.”
The Saradha scam came to light in April 2013. Saradha Reality India, along with three of its group companies, collected money from the open market, reaching out to the public through various schemes — fixed deposits, monthly investment schemes, recurring deposits, etc.
