Sebi has penalised seven former officials of Saradha Realty in the illicit money pooling case in addition to three individuals and the company that have to pay a total fine of Rs 1 crore.
Saradha Realty, as also its promoters and directors, were asked by Sebi through an order in April 2013 to wind up all existing collective investment schemes and (CIS)to refund the money collected from investors, with returns, within three months.
The properties being attached include land parcels, buildings, flats, resorts, as also furniture, televisions, refrigerators, generators and computers along with all other "movable assets" held by the two defaulters.
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Darjeeling court, Utpal Mishra passed the order yesterday evening during which Sen was present in the court. The case had been filed by retired army man Kubir Rai, a Darjeeling resident, in July 2013 against Saradha Group alleging that it had caused him huge financial loss.
The probe, conducted by the Corporate Affairs Ministry's white-collar crime investigation agency SFIO, also found that these four companies collected 96 percent money from small investors who deposited less than Rs 50,000 each.
The police seized documents relating to the property of the Saradha Group on Saturday. "We have seized property documents relating to the investigation into the Saradha Group," Arnab Ghosh, deputy commissioner (DD), Bidhanagar City police told PTI here.
The government on Saturday said several of its investigating wings like Sebi, RBI, IT Department and Enforcement Directorate have begun crackdown on Ponzi schemes and have initiated action against Saradha Group under various laws including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The chit fund scam in West Bengal is getting bigger with market regulator Sebi turning the heat on over a dozen other companies running similar Ponzi schemes. People are rushing to withdraw Rs 20,000 crore invested in these companies.
It may pale in comparison to the figure involved in the Sahara OFCD case, but the Saradha chit fund scam may run into a lot more than what Mamata Banerjee is provisioning for.
Sudipta Sen, the main accused in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, and his two other accomplices were today remanded in 14-day police custody by a court , even as police claimed that the company's director Debjani Mukherjee played a key role in decision-making.
The Trinamool Congress is on the defensive even after the West Bengal chit fund scam kingpin and Saradha Group CMD, Sudipta Sen, claimed he was blackmailed by the party's leaders.