Tag: Saradha chit fund scam

  • Suvendu writes to PM Modi seeking action against Mamata in Saradha scam

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Saradha chit fund scam.

    Labelling Mamata as the scam’s “biggest beneficiary”, Suvendu expressed concern over the CBI’s “slow-paced” investigation and questioned the central agency’s “incomprehensible scepticism and hesitation” in getting the TMC supremo convicted.

    Adhikari, in the letter, alleged, “The CBI was handed over the responsibility of the investigation because it was a scam which involved thousands of crores collected from the public allegedly because of the patronage of people occupying high positions in the system.”

    “The CBI was expected to nail the person occupying the highest position in the system,” he wrote.

    Referring to Mamata’s ‘position in the system, he wrote, “Is this why the CBI is hesitant? Or has the height of her chair made them reluctant to act against her? But wasn’t it the primary reason for handing over the investigation to the CBI? So that the position of the high & mighty doesn’t deter them from acting against them and bringing them to justice.”

    Adhikari also alleged that Banerjee’s association with Saradha goes back to the time when she was the railway minister in the UPA-2 government.

    When the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged on several occasions that the CBI and other central agencies are working at the behest of the BJP, Adhikari expressed his unhappiness with the probe’s progress several times in the letter.

    Claiming that Mamata’s link to the scam is “well established,” Adhikari wrote, “Why is CBI going slow regarding Mamata Banerjee and making no progress as such? The lack of action is resulting in the erosion of the faith of the people of West Bengal in the premier investigating agency.”

    Concluding his plea, he wrote, “I hope you (Modi) would consider this plea of the people of West Bengal and see to it that the culprits are punished strictly as per the law of the land.”

    KOLKATA: West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Saradha chit fund scam.

    Labelling Mamata as the scam’s “biggest beneficiary”, Suvendu expressed concern over the CBI’s “slow-paced” investigation and questioned the central agency’s “incomprehensible scepticism and hesitation” in getting the TMC supremo convicted.

    Adhikari, in the letter, alleged, “The CBI was handed over the responsibility of the investigation because it was a scam which involved thousands of crores collected from the public allegedly because of the patronage of people occupying high positions in the system.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “The CBI was expected to nail the person occupying the highest position in the system,” he wrote.

    Referring to Mamata’s ‘position in the system, he wrote, “Is this why the CBI is hesitant? Or has the height of her chair made them reluctant to act against her? But wasn’t it the primary reason for handing over the investigation to the CBI? So that the position of the high & mighty doesn’t deter them from acting against them and bringing them to justice.”

    Adhikari also alleged that Banerjee’s association with Saradha goes back to the time when she was the railway minister in the UPA-2 government.

    When the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged on several occasions that the CBI and other central agencies are working at the behest of the BJP, Adhikari expressed his unhappiness with the probe’s progress several times in the letter.

    Claiming that Mamata’s link to the scam is “well established,” Adhikari wrote, “Why is CBI going slow regarding Mamata Banerjee and making no progress as such? The lack of action is resulting in the erosion of the faith of the people of West Bengal in the premier investigating agency.”

    Concluding his plea, he wrote, “I hope you (Modi) would consider this plea of the people of West Bengal and see to it that the culprits are punished strictly as per the law of the land.”

  • Saradha scam: Assets of Nalini, former Assam minister seized by ED

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Directorate of Enforcement has attached movable and immovable assets worth of over Rs 6 crores of various individuals, including that of Nalini Chidambaram and  former IPS and ex-CPM MP Debendranath Biswas among others, in connections with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam being probed on laundering of money siphoned out of investment fund wherein thousands of common public had parked their life-time earnings.

    According to ED sources, the agency attached movable assets worth Rs 3.30 crore and immovable assets with value of over Rs 3 crore in its ongoing investigation into the matter of Saradha Group of Companies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. These properties were owned by Saradha Group and other persons, who were beneficiaries of proceeds of crime generated by Saradha Group of Companies.

    The beneficiaries include Nalini Chidambaram, eminent lawyer and wife of ex-Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Debabrata Sarkar of East Bengal Club, Debendranath Biswas (Ex IPS and ex MLA CPM) and Anubhuti Printers and Publications owned by late Anjan Dutta, ex Minister in Assam.

    Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam with operations spread over the states of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa, till 2013. The quantum of total money mobilised by this group company is about Rs 2,459 crore out of which nearly Rs 1,983 crore remains unpaid to the depositors till date, excluding the interest amount. The ED had registered a case against Saradha Group of Companies in 2013 on the basis of FIRs by Kolkata Police and CBI. 

    ‘Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam till 2013’Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam with operations spread over the states of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa, till 2013. The quantum of total money mobilized by this company is about `2,459 crore out of which nearly `1,983 crore remains unpaid to the depositors.

    NEW DELHI:  Directorate of Enforcement has attached movable and immovable assets worth of over Rs 6 crores of various individuals, including that of Nalini Chidambaram and  former IPS and ex-CPM MP Debendranath Biswas among others, in connections with the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam being probed on laundering of money siphoned out of investment fund wherein thousands of common public had parked their life-time earnings.

    According to ED sources, the agency attached movable assets worth Rs 3.30 crore and immovable assets with value of over Rs 3 crore in its ongoing investigation into the matter of Saradha Group of Companies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. These properties were owned by Saradha Group and other persons, who were beneficiaries of proceeds of crime generated by Saradha Group of Companies.

    The beneficiaries include Nalini Chidambaram, eminent lawyer and wife of ex-Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Debabrata Sarkar of East Bengal Club, Debendranath Biswas (Ex IPS and ex MLA CPM) and Anubhuti Printers and Publications owned by late Anjan Dutta, ex Minister in Assam.

    Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam with operations spread over the states of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa, till 2013. The quantum of total money mobilised by this group company is about Rs 2,459 crore out of which nearly Rs 1,983 crore remains unpaid to the depositors till date, excluding the interest amount. The ED had registered a case against Saradha Group of Companies in 2013 on the basis of FIRs by Kolkata Police and CBI. 

    ‘Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam till 2013’
    Saradha Group ran a chit fund scam with operations spread over the states of West Bengal, Assam and Orissa, till 2013. The quantum of total money mobilized by this company is about `2,459 crore out of which nearly `1,983 crore remains unpaid to the depositors.

  • ED freezes accounts of former Bengal DGP in Saradha chit fund scam

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Swinging back into action after eight years, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday launched a fresh probe into the Saradha chit fund scam, which triggered a large-scale political uproar in West Bengal, and froze two accounts of Rajat Majumdar, the former director general of police of West Bengal and erstwhile official of the accused company.

    Majumdar, who was vice-chairman of Saradha Group, was interrogated at the central agency’s Salt office till late on Saturday night. Sleuths probing into the alleged scam recorded the statement of the former IPS officer.

    “The decision of freezing Majumdar’s bank accounts was taken after interrogating Majumdar. In future, we may summon more people who are believed to be the beneficiaries of the scam,’’ said an ED official.

    The ED’s action in the Saradha scam came a day after Calcutta High Court’s judge Abhijit Aganguly, who is hearing the school recruitment scam case hearing, made a comment that he does not want the fate of this probe to be like that of the Saradha scam.

    In September 2014, the CBI had arrested Majumdar in connection with the agency’s ongoing probe into the Rs 2,000 crore scam.

    In February next year, he was released on bail.  

    Majumdar was also the ruling Trinamool Congress’s vice president when he was arrested.

    The ED had registered a case against Saradha Group of Companies in 2013 on the basis of the FIRs by Kolkata police.

    The central agency have attached assets of the company worth over Rs 35 crore, which includes vehicles, buildings, flats, and bungalows in several districts across Bengal.

    KOLKATA: Swinging back into action after eight years, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday launched a fresh probe into the Saradha chit fund scam, which triggered a large-scale political uproar in West Bengal, and froze two accounts of Rajat Majumdar, the former director general of police of West Bengal and erstwhile official of the accused company.

    Majumdar, who was vice-chairman of Saradha Group, was interrogated at the central agency’s Salt office till late on Saturday night. Sleuths probing into the alleged scam recorded the statement of the former IPS officer.

    “The decision of freezing Majumdar’s bank accounts was taken after interrogating Majumdar. In future, we may summon more people who are believed to be the beneficiaries of the scam,’’ said an ED official.

    The ED’s action in the Saradha scam came a day after Calcutta High Court’s judge Abhijit Aganguly, who is hearing the school recruitment scam case hearing, made a comment that he does not want the fate of this probe to be like that of the Saradha scam.

    In September 2014, the CBI had arrested Majumdar in connection with the agency’s ongoing probe into the Rs 2,000 crore scam.

    In February next year, he was released on bail.  

    Majumdar was also the ruling Trinamool Congress’s vice president when he was arrested.

    The ED had registered a case against Saradha Group of Companies in 2013 on the basis of the FIRs by Kolkata police.

    The central agency have attached assets of the company worth over Rs 35 crore, which includes vehicles, buildings, flats, and bungalows in several districts across Bengal.

  • Special court grants interim bail to TMC’s Kunal Ghosh in Saradha chit fund case

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress West Bengal general secretary Kunal Ghosh was on Thursday granted interim bail by a special court here following his surrender before it in connection a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the Saradha chit fund scam.

    The special CBI court directed Ghosh to furnish a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with two sureties of Rs 10,000 each, and to assist the investigating officer in the PMLA case.

    The court had on August 27 issued summons to the TMC leader and two others to appear before it on September 20 on a prayer by the ED, which is investigating allegations of money laundering in the Saradha case.

    Ghosh’s lawyer claimed that he surrendered before the court on Thursday soon after getting information about the summons issued by it.

    He submitted that he is a law-abiding citizen and innocent.

    Opposing the bail prayer, ED special public prosecutor Abhijit Bhadra told the court that the accused is an influential person and there is every scope of his evading trial in the case.

    Ghosh has been charged with assisting main accused Sudipta Sen in acquisition of the proceeds of crime and money laundering.

    Observing that the ED’s investigation into the Saradha case in respect of Ghosh, who was the editor of the company’s publications, has been completed, Special CBI Judge Anupam Mukherjee said there is no reason for detaining him behind bars.

    The Saradha group allegedly defrauded lakhs of people in West Bengal through several ponzi schemes.

  • Saradha ghost returns as more officials, Trinamool candidates get summons ahead of polls

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  With the state heading towards the first of its eight-phase poll schedule, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) swung into action on Friday and issued summons to two IAS officers, including a principal secretary, former director general of police and security advisor of Mamata Banerjee’s government.

    Earlier on Friday, CBI interrogated two Trinamool Congress candidates in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.

    Madan Mitra, who is contesting from Kamarhati constituency, and Jorasanko candidate Vivek Gupta appeared before CBI sleuths.

    Mitra, who has been fielded by the party from Kamarhati assembly constituency, was, in the past, arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the case, and later granted bail.

    “I will always co-operate with the central agency. They summoned me and I visited their office. They asked questions and I replied,’’ said Mitra.

    Gupta, who is contesting the elections from Jorasanko seat, admitted that he knew Sudipto Sen, the owner of the blacklisted firm, and said he visited the ED office to submit income tax details.

    The ED issued summons to principal secretary B Gopalika, asking him to visit its office on March 24 in connection with a probe into the controversial 2017 disinvestment of the West Bengal government’s stake in Metro Dairy, which was India’s first public-private partnership in the dairy sector.

    The CBI summoned former IPS officers Surajit Kar Purkayastha and and Rajat Majumdar. Purkayastha is presently serving as security advisor to the state government, in connection with the Saradha scam.

    Sources in the agency said Purkayastha was seen attending an event organised by Saradha and delivering a speech.

    Majumdar, the former DGP of West Bengal, was earlier apprehended by the CBI in the chit fund case.

    The Calcutta High Court later granted him bail.

    The central agency also issued summons to IPS officer LN Meena, who was the commissioner of Asansol commissionerate, and IAS officer Arun Prasad, district magistrate of Bankura, in connection with a coal pilferage case.

    Shah to release Bengal manifesto on Sunday

    Union Minister for Home Affairs and former BJP chief Amit Shah will release the party’s manifesto for the West Bengal Assembly elections on Sunday.

    The manifesto has been prepared on the basis of an outreach programme in which public suggestions were taken, on the lines of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    Shah will be on a one-day visit of West Bengal to release the manifesto.

    (With PTI Inputs)