MUMBAI: A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Odisha has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to release movable assets worth ₹450 crore for restitution to around 3.1 million investors across the country who were allegedly defrauded in a multi-state chit fund fraud.
₹450-crore assets to be repaid to cheated investors” title=”Rose Valley chit fund case: Court orders ₹450-crore assets to be repaid to cheated investors” />The fund was allegedly perpetuated by the Rose Valley Group of Companies and operated through its managing director Gautam Kundu. The restitution will help clear the decks for the return of investors’ money across the country, especially in the eastern region, including the states of Odisha, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, ED sources said.
The assets, which were held in the form of fixed deposits in various bank accounts, were attached by the ED for being the case’s proceeds of crime during its money-laundering probe. An Assets Disposal Committee (ADC) was constituted on the directions of the Calcutta high court under the chairmanship of Justice (retired) Dilip K Seth, with the ED and others as its members.
The ADC has already processed 32,319 claims, resulting in the disbursal of around ₹22 crore of funds to investors, ED sources said. The restitution process is likely to acquire optimum pace over the coming months, as more claims are being scrutinised and validated by the ADC.
Over 31 lakh investors of the Rose Valley Group have registered their claims on a dedicated website, www.rosevalleyadc.com, for restitution purposes, ED sources said, adding that pursuant to the persistent efforts of the ED, eastern region, the special court at the district and sessions court complex, Khurda, by an order of March 7, allowed the application filed by the ADC for restitution of the assets.
“The ED, Kolkata, played a crucial role in facilitating the attachment, possession and disbursement of the assets of the Rose Valley Group, thereby smoothening and expediting the restitution of properties to thousands of victims in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, among others,” an ED source said.
The restitution is one of the first and largest exercises undertaken by the ED’s Bhubaneswar zonal office. The ED has requested investors who may not have registered their claims so far to do so immediately by logging on to www.rosevalleyadc.com and uploading the details and documents as required.