CBI files chargesheet against chairman, directors of Kolkata-based group in chit fund scam

Agartala (Tripura) [India], November 2 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a supplementary chargesheet against the chairman, managing director and directors of a Kolkata-based company in a case related to chit fund scam.
Earlier, a chargesheet was also filed by Tripura Police in January 2018. CBI had registered a case against the accused on October 18, 2019.
According to CBI, the accused hatched a conspiracy with the intention to cheat and established the said company. It was alleged that the company had collected huge public funds in the form of deposits by issuing Certificates in the name of booking rooms in hotels to huge number of investors in violation of the Companies Act and SEBI (CIS) Regulations. The accused allegedly formed several other companies under the said Private Group of Companies and became the directors of these companies and diverted the money in the group companies knowing that those companies were loss-making entities.
CBI said the accused opened several bank accounts in the name of the company, became signatories of these bank accounts and allegedly diverted the fund. It was also alleged that the accused used to falsely publicise the high profitability of the Group, contrary to the fact and viability of the business of the company. They appointed a large number of agents, one above the other, and induced them to collect deposits by alluring them with a high percentage of commissions and incentives, in violation of Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules.
CBI further said the accused allegedly used to run an illegal money circulation scheme which was banned under Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act. The accused also induced the investors in investing money in various schemes of the said company by offering a high percentage of returns in violation of Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules.
Business development meetings, seminars and competitions were allegedly held by the accused directors of the company with the big agents and investors and in those meetings, they used to deliver motivational speeches to motivate the investors and agents to collect more and more investments. The amounts invested by the investors were allegedly diverted to loss-making sister-concerns of the group where the amounts were misappropriated. It was alleged that an amount of Rs 464,80,06,331 (approx) was misappropriated.