The Central Bureau of Investigation, following the Jharkhand High Court directions, has registered two cases against 50 people for their alleged involvement in chit fund scams running into crores.
In the first case, the agency has named 38 people linked to four companies, Eden Nirman Limited, Smart Highrise Limited, GDI Multi Services Limited and Fentiles Agrotech Limited. Four others, including three linked to Sea Greenage Valley Projects Limited, have also been arraigned as accused. Most of them are residents of Murshidabad in West Bengal.
The agency has taken over the probe into FIRs registered at various police stations in Jharkhand’s Pakur and Maheshpur.
The second CBI case has been made out against those related to SLC Marketing Private Limited, SLC Reality Co. Limited and Hriddhi Infracon India Limited. The accused had collected about ₹2.35 crore from depositors in Pakur on the pretext of huge returns. They vanished from the scene after closing the company in 2012.
The Public Interest Litigation petition, on which the High Court had earlier issued orders for the transfer of more than 200 cases against several chit fund companies, had also sought directions for a CBI probe against Alchemist Infra Realty Limited and its directors.
Earlier this month, the ED arrested former TMC MP and industrialist K.D. Singh in connection with the Ponzi scam case allegedly involving Alchemist Infra Realty Limited. The company was accused of raising over ₹1,900 crore from investors through unauthorised means.
The agency said its probe was initiated on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India against the company and its directors in March 2016. Mr. Singh headed the Alchemist Group till 2012. The agency had earlier summoned him for recording his statements.
In January 2019, the ED had also attached properties worth ₹239.29 crore in the Alchemist case.
