THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The Bill passed by the Assembly last year to protect the interests of the investors in finance companies will soon become law as it got the assent of the President, said Finance Minister K M Mani in a press statement here on Monday.
The government has notified the Bill which has received presidential assent as an Act of the Assembly.
The Bill was passed in the Assembly on February 19 last year in the backdrop of incidents such as ‘Total forU’ fraudulent schemes in which the investors were cheated by some finance companies giving false promises.
Before the advent of the new Bill, the government was empowered only to file criminal case against the fraudulent finance firms.
The new Bill has the provision to confiscate the assets of the firms involved in fraudulent practices and also the property accumulated by them so as to refund the money to those investors who are cheated.
The Bill also stipulates rigorous imprisonment of up to ten years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each for the individual and the firm found guilty to be involved in frauds.
The list of finance companies and banks which are entitled to accept investment and those which are not authorised for the same have been published on the Reserve Bank website.
“The Bill received assent of the President after two years of regular communication through letters.
Steps will soon be taken to execute the legislation”, the minister said.