BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at the property linked to former MLA and senior leader of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Malla Vijay Prasad in connection with a multi-crore chit fund scam.
Prasad was the MD of M/s Wellfare Building and Estates Pvt Ltd. The company was enlisted with ROC, Kolkata in 2011 with its head office in Visakhapatnam. However, Prasad along with two directors of the tainted firm allegedly committed chit fund scam worth `1,200 crore in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
ED officials said the agency is probing the alleged laundering of proceeds generated through the chit fund operations of Wellfare. Accordingly, raids were conducted at the property linked to Prasad in at least five to six locations including Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
“Further investigation is underway,” said ED sources.The firm operated in Odisha through its branch offices in Bhubaneswar, Narasinghpur in Cuttack and Nayagarh between 2009 and 2014. During this period, it reportedly lured depositors with schemes that promised to double their investments or provide plots in Visakhapatnam.
The company reportedly duped investors of over Rs 2 crore through its chit fund schemes in the state. Prasad was arrested in 2021 in this connection.