VIJAYAWADA: Stating that Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL) has violated every rule in the book, Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) additional director general of police (ADGP) N Sanjay said, “More than 800 high-value chit subscribers have lost over Rs 100 crore collectively as the firm failed to repay their money in time citing various reasons.”
Accusing the company of operating ghost subscribers and keeping the money to itself, he said 40 per cent of chit groups have no subscribers. “MCFPL has also threatened subscribers, instructing them not to file complaints regarding the financial irregularities in the firm,” he added.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sanjay pointed out that investors incurred severe losses due to MCFPL’s gross violation of The Chit Funds Act and the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act. Further, he said the gravity of the issue has been explained to officials of the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Investigation has revealed that details of 100 people, including their Aadhaar number, have been used without their knowledge,” he added and explained that they will also probe how some individuals, institutions and companies paid huge amounts for multiple chits. Elaborating on the alleged fraudulent practices of MCFPL, Sanjay shared the details of one chit subscriber who received only Rs 8,000 after investing around Rs 7 crore through 45 high-value chits.
Sharing her ordeal with the reporters, Bondu Annapurna Devi said she had invested in one chit but was forced to enrol on more chits and pushed into a debt trap. MCFPL allegedly also forced her to subscribe to many chits in the names of her husband, family and other relatives. Annapurna also accused the company of forging her daughter’s signature.
“MCFPL executed a chit on my name in my absence and completed the financial transactions in their book adjustment by forging signatures. We have lost everything, including our ancestral properties, to the company in order to pay the chits. Margadarsi agents forced me to join in 65 chits only to repay their amounts,” Annapurna lamented. Subsequently, a case was registered against the manager of the Margadarsi branch in Labbipet. The APCID ADGP also raised concerns over threatening calls made to Annapurna, allegedly by MCFPL MD Sailaja Kiron through her personal assistant Sasikala.
In a similar incident, Visakhapatnam II-Town police registered a case against MCFPL branch manager Yalamanchili Babu Rajendra Prasad and others for forging a woman’s signature and adding her to a chit group valued at Rs 5 lakh. On receiving the complaint, police registered a case under IPC Sections 419, 420, 467, 471 409, 120(B) read with 34. Citing a case where a Vijayawada-based builder has 50 chits each valued at around Rs 1 crore, Sanjay said, “We have sought the help of the I-T Department to probe the details of such subscribers to ascertain their financial status.”
Meanwhile, the APCID has attached Rs 9 crore worth of properties belonging to Jagajjanani Chit Funds Private Limited (JCFPL) for allegedly violating rules. Refuting allegations that the APCID has been acting on the directions of the ruling party and intentionally targeting MCFPL, Sanjay said, “We are acting against the company based on the complaints received from the Stamps and Registration Department for flouting rules and regulations.”