Guwahati, July 10: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth around Rs 5.54 crore in connection with an alleged multi-crore Ponzi scam involving the Jeevan Suraksha Group of Companies, officials said on Friday.
The attachment was made under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to the ED, the attached assets include credit balances of about Rs 1.42 crore lying in 48 bank accounts and 22 immovable properties valued at nearly Rs 4.11 crore spread across Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal. The money laundering investigation was launched based on FIRs and charge sheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Guwahati, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
The case was also investigated by the Assam CID and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The ED alleged that the Jeevan Suraksha Group, operating through several companies and sister concerns, ran a money circulation scheme using a network of around 422 branches across the northeastern states.
The group allegedly lured nearly 6.88 lakh investors through recurring and fixed deposits, plot booking schemes, monthly income plans and redeemable preference shares by promising unusually high returns without obtaining any statutory authorisation to accept public deposits.
Investigators found that the group collected nearly Rs 403.63 crore from investors but repaid only around Rs 132.72 crore, allegedly using fresh deposits to pay earlier investors before abruptly shutting operations. The remaining proceeds of crime have been estimated at Rs 270.91 crore.
The ED further alleged that funds were diverted to directors and their family members through cash withdrawals, insurance policies, fixed deposits and inter-entity transfers before being invested in properties.
IANS
