CBI arrests absconding accused after deportation from Fiji in an alleged multi thousand crores financial scam

New Delhi, Mar 9 (FN Bureau) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an absconding accused after deportation from Fiji in a case related to alleged multi-thousand crore Chit Fund Scam, the agency said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Harchand Singh, was brought back to India upon being deported from Fiji. Singh was absconding in this case since its inception. The Trial Court had issued an open dated Non-bailable Warrant of Arrest against him, and a Red Notice was also published through INTERPOL, the CBI said in a statement.A request for his deportation was pursued through NCB, Suva (Fiji), a CBI team brought him back to India upon being deported from Fiji. The accused, the then Director and shareholder of a private company, was alleged to be actively associated with the affairs of a Company and was also present in the Board Meetings where all the important decisions were taken. It was further alleged that he conspired with other Directors of the private company to operate the collective investment scheme illegally without any statutory approval, the statement said.The accused was produced before the Court at Rouse Avenue District Courts in New Delhi on Tuesday. CBI had registered the case on February 19, 2014 against then Chairman/CMD & Promoter Director of a private company and others including the private company, other private company & then Directors of these private companies after conversion of a Preliminary Enquiry registered earlier on the directions of the Supreme Court of India to enquire into the said allegations.

The inquiry revealed prima-facie evidence of the private company having raised investments of several thousand of crores by issuing bogus land allotment letters to induce the investors, it said. A series of searches were conducted by CBI during February 2014, at the office premises and residences of Directors and other suspected places in Delhi, Jaipur (Rajasthan), Chandigarh, Punjab & Haryana, which led to recovery of huge records & data relating to deposits from public and their misutilisation and diversion of funds, besides other incriminating documents. Investigation also revealed that the accused fraudulently diverted the alleged funds collected under the aegis of Jaipur based private company for purported investment in Australian companies, it said. During investigation, CBI had earlier arrested four accused including then CMD & Promoter Director of Chandigarh based private company; then MD & Promoter Director of Jaipur based private company and two then Directors of said Jaipur based Company on January 8, 2016. It was then found during investigation that none of the land allegedly had marking of plots and none of the land was found in the name of the companies in Delhi, NCR, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, even though the same was shown allotted by them to its investors. The investors had not allegedly received any plot / land allotment letter from the company and almost all the investors to whom the company had allotted the land were unpaid. Most of the land was either non-existent or Government land or not sold by the owner.

It was also alleged that there were more than 23 lakh enrolled commission agents and out of them, more than 1700 were top level field associates and several of these top level commission agents used to get monthly commission in lakhs of rupees. A chargesheet was filed against the accused including private companies on April 7, 2016, it added. To investigate the role of other accused and suspects in an alleged multi thousand crore financial scam, which had adversely affected the interests of millions of investors, further investigation of the case was continued. During further investigation, 11 accused (all private persons) from Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar were arrested on December 22, 2021.A Supplementary Chargesheet against 27 accused including 3 private companies was filed on December 31, 2021 before the Court of Special Judge, CBI Cases, Rouse Avenue District Court Complex in New Delhi. Of those named in the Supplementary Chargesheet include 11 accused (all private persons) arrested by CBI. It was alleged that the accused were the co-conspirators in the scam, who aided the prime accused and others in illegally operating investment schemes for earning quick & easy money, inducing investors to invest their funds in such investment schemes which offered lucrative returns to the investors and thereafter in diversion of such funds through dubious means with the motive of misappropriation, it added.