NEW DELHI: After having raised Rs 32 crores from investors, as many as 78 companies are untraceable with Gujarat having the maximum number of 17 such entities.
These entities, among others, are from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab.
Vanishing companies are those that fail to file documents and balance sheets after raising funds through public issues and are untraceable
Other such companies include 13 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Tamil Nadu and 9 in Maharashtra. Besides, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have 5 vanishing firms weach.
A total of 238 companies were initially identified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as ‘vanishing companies’, which raised money through public issues, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said. Of these, 160 companies have been deleted from the list as they were subsequently traced.
Besides, the ministry has also ordered probe into the affairs of 185 companies through Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in more than three financial years. This includes 24 firms in the current fiscal which were allegedly running illegal chit-fund, ponzi and multi-level marketing entities, Meghwal added.