Ponzi firm MD held for duping depositors

BERHAMPUR: Baidyanathpur police on Sunday arrested the managing director (MD) of a ponzi firm for duping depositors of lakhs of rupees. SDPO Bishnu Prasad Pati said the accused, Dhiren Kumar Swain (47) of Gurumu village in Ganjam district had collected funds from people assuring them high returns through his company called Binodini Projects Limited, which he had opened in 2010 at Ayodhyanagar locality here. 

When the depositors demanded their money back with interest, Swain fled the city with his wife after closing the office in 2017. A few of the depositors then lodged a complaint with the police in this regard in 2018. 

During investigation, it came to fore that Swain had collected `68 lakh from 523 depositors. A case was then registered and a manhunt launched to arrest him. Recently, Pati received information that Swain was arrested by Korba police in Chhattisgarh for duping depositors. He was released on bail and had been hiding in his village. 

A team of police reached the village and arrested Swain. Pati said while Swain, his wife and three other staff were released on bail by Korba police, the rest of the company’s staff are still at large. “Swain has been forwarded to court and we would appeal to take him on remand for interrogation,” he said.