The agency sources said it is conducting searches at six locations connected to officials at the rank of chief general manager (CGM) and general manager (GM). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is searching the offices and residences of three officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in Mumbai in connection with the fraud allegedly perpetrated by the Saradha Group. The agency sources said it is conducting searches at six locations connected to officials at the rank of chief general manager (CGM) and general manager (GM).
The Saradha Group went bust in April 2013 after it defaulted on repayments to depositors. The group raised Rs 2,400 crore from 1.7 million small investors through various collective investment schemes.
The failure of the chit fund triggered several suicides in the eastern part of India. Subsequently, the group’s chairman, Sudipta Sen, was arrested along with two of his associates for defrauding depositors. Several TMC leaders have been linked to the Saradha scam. The group is yet to return the principal amount of Rs 1,876 crore to investors.
The SEBI has been investigating the Saradha case since the collapse of the group.
According to SEBI, the company ran a collective investment scheme as the real objective was “to mobilize fund from public by showing some real estate projects to the investors” and indirectly promising “return of funds with high interest rates”. The company had schemes for collecting contributions ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 100,000 with tenures varying from 15 months to 120 months.