Saradha chit fund scam: CBI set to probe SEBI auditors
CBI has so far registered 48 cases in the scam
By : pramod kumar
Update: 2014-08-24 01:10 GMT
New Delhi: Expanding the ambit of its probe into the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, the CBI is now set to initiate action against “statutory auditors” and the stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to probe their alleged role in the “criminal conspiracy” of siphoning the money deposited by small investors.
Besides, the CBI, which is already supervising five cases in Tripura pertaining to the scam, is also planning to take up cases registered against the Saradha group of companies in Assam soon. The agency, which has so far registered 48 cases in the scam, will soon register more FIRs, sources said.
Sources said, “The roles of other regulatory bodies, like the Registrar of Companies (RoC) and the RBI, are also being looked into by the CBI sleuths after the Supreme Court’s directive.”
The role of regulatory bodies is being looked into to find out whether they performed their duties and to what extent these illegal business activities of collecting public money were in their knowledge, the sources said. The agency recently arrested Debabrata Sarkar, an official of the football club East Bengal. Investigations revealed that he was allegedly the middleman between the Saradha group and regulatory bodies like Sebi. He was arrested in Kolkata.
“During the investigation, case dockets of relevant cases and details of the companies, including names of directors and balance-sheets, obtained from relevant government agencies like RoC, Sebi and the income-tax department, were thoroughly examined by the agency sleuths. Investigators tried their level best to understand the modus operandi of the accused companies, the quantum of deposits collected from the public by different companies and their movable and immovable properties,” sources said. All persons who were arrested in connection with the scam have already been examined, they said.
The agency had, on August 7, arrested the managing director and director of the Orissa-based Green India Infra Projects in connection with the case. The CBI had also named Trinamul Congress’ sitting Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh as one of the accused in one case. Mr Ghosh was earlier the Saradha group’s chief executive officer (Saradha Media).