In wake of the Saradha fiasco the Centre is trawling through the 272 banking transactions carried out by the various chit fund companies.
The information pertaining to the dubious transactions has been given to the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) as well as the state governments.
Post-Saradha, the Central agencies turned their attention to chit fund companies running similar operations in Eastern India including West Bengal.
And the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the RBI are heading the probe into the various schemes run by the Saradha Group. Besides, the I-T Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing the chit fund firm and its subsidiaries.
“In over 59 cases in the Eastern region, the SEBI has initiated prosecution cases in Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) related matters in various courts,” the MoF said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the probe into the 272 cases has brought out massive tax evasion running into several hundred crores, according to the CEIB’s Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs). Several of these cases are connected to the ‘Ponzi’ schemes as well as the multi-level marketing cases. Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had vowed to rein in the chit fund companies. Even the Supreme Court ordered SEBI to deal with the chit fund companies strictly.
A Ponzi scheme is a swindle in which a quick return on an investment is offered.
Government’s investigating arms like Sebi, RBI, IT Department and Enforcement Directorate have already begun crackdown on ponzi schemes and initiated action against scam-ridden Saradha Group under various laws.