New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday provisionally attached assets worth Rs 6.28 crore in Assam in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering case registered against Saradha Group of Companies for running illegal Ponzi schemes.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of various FIRs and charge sheets filed by different law enforcement agencies under sections 120B and 420 of IPC against various companies of Saradha Group.
During the investigation, the ED found that different companies of Saradha Group had invested in various movable and immovable properties to launder the proceeds of crime.
The total proceeds of Crime (POC) identified in the case till now is Rs 41.46 crore. Earlier, the ED had attached five immovable properties of the group worth Rs 4.35 crore.
The Saradha group allegedly run a chit fund scam with operations spread in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha till 2013.
The company allegedly cheated thousands of depositors, promising abnormally high returns on investments in its illegal schemes.
The anti-money laundering agency filed a criminal case in 2013 after studying the Kolkata Police FIRs against the group and its promoters.
According to the ED, the quantum of total money mobilised by this group company is about Rs 2,459 crore out of which about Rs 1,983 crore remains unpaid to the depositors to date (excluding the interest amount).