Adjudicating Authority acts on Bizarre Company misdeeds Adjudicating Authority acts on Bizarre Company misdeeds of Kerala
Kozhikode: The Adjudicating Authority in New Delhi has admitted a petition by the Enforcement Directorate and forfeited Rs 41 cr in the frozen accounts of Bizarre Marketing Private Limited, a company involved in cheating about one lakh investors to the tune of Rs 123 cr. Admitting a petition by the Enforcement Directorate, accusing the fraudulent firm of indulging in money laundering, the Adjudicating Authority allowed the forfeiture of Rs 41 cr in the firm’s bank accounts that were earlier frozen as part of the ongoing investigation.
The Kerala Crime Branch Economic Offences Wing had also backed the findings of the Enforcement Directorate and had backed its move for forfeiture of the bank accounts to the Government as it was the proceeds of a crime.
Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA), which handled the appeals from the investors had objected to the forfeiture, saying the investors had to be paid back from the company’s funds in the bank. However, it was later pointed out that KELSA had no legal powers to pass orders in money laundering cases as the Money Laundering Act vests the powers to pass such orders with the Adjudicating Authority in New Delhi.
According to sources in the Enforcement Directorate, the investors will be paid back their deposit if the courts concerned order the attachment of the properties seized by the investigation agencies from the company. The Economic Offences Wing which investigated the case had identified properties in the name of the company at 51 locations and the value of the properties was estimated to be above Rs 27 cr. As on date only about 150 investors have approached the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) to get back their investment.
“If the court orders attachment of the properties of the company, it would be enough to pay back the deposit amounts to these 150 odd investors. However, our estimate is that more than one lakh investors in Kerala had been cheated by the company to the tune of Rs 123 cr. Since the company collected amounts starting from Rs 5,000, many investors have not taken the effort to reclaim the investment amount,” a senior Enforcement official said.
The Bizarre Marketing Company Private Limited worked as a money chain company and collected investments from people offering them better returns if they brought in more investors to the company. The investors at the lower band approached the police after they failed to receive returns from the company. There are more than 100 accused in as many as 163 cases booked against the company in Kerala. Its MD and board members were arrested and are now out on bail.
