Rose Valley Chit Fund Group Chairman Goutam Kundu
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and Asset Disposal Committee (ADC) disbursed 2.29 crore to over 3,700 people who were victims of the Rose Valley Ponzi Scheme scam. This is the fifth round of such payments which have affected lakhs of depositors.
The ADC committee for Rose Valley presided by Justice Dilip Kr Seth (Retd.) has reached 3,741 victims in the fifth round of disbursement.
A total of ₹21,98,26,744 have been given to 32,319 victims. The committee was appointed on May 15, 2015, following a Calcutta High Court order.
According to the official ADC records, over 30,77,369 people have submitted their applications till now to claim their refund for the money they had deposited in this scheme. The people mostly belong to West Bengal and the neighbouring States, including Odisha and Assam.
By promising large returns and land parcels, the Rose Valley Group had gathered deposits from the public. The ED has attached several Rose Valley Group properties as a result of its inquiry into the functionings of this ponzi scheme.
“The ED has successfully attached movable properties worth ₹494 crore and immovable properties valued at ₹1,069 crore, spread across West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, with West Bengal alone accounting for ₹1,184 crore in attached assets,” a press statement by the ED said.
The officials also assured that further reinstitution will continue over the upcoming months to ensure more claims are scrutinised and resolved.
The chit fund scam came to light in 2013 as lakhs of depositors from multiple States stood affected, including many lower middle class and lower-class people. They were defrauded by ponzi scheme companies like Rose Valley and Sarada. Many depositors and victims raised questions about their money as the investigation into the companies took over a decade.
The first payout distributed ₹5.12 crore to 7,346 depositors in October 2024.
In a previous statement in August, the officials had said, “The ED had requested the Assets Disposal Committee (ADC) constituted by the High Court to approach the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA) for restitution of properties attached or seized by the ED. Subsequently, the ADC filed the application under Section 8(8) of PMLA before the Special PMLA Court.”
The Rose Valley promoters had opposed this plan, but the officials convinced the court of the merits of the request. The officials eventually got an order to release attached properties in favour of the authentic investors.
In January, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Odisha had also framed their charges against the primary accused duo Gautam Kundu and Shibamoy Dutta. The ED had filed their charge sheet against them back in 2016.
Published – February 28, 2025 08:41 pm IST