CID probes multi-state ₹10k-crore ‘chit-fund’ fraud

The Madhya Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating a suspected chit-fund fraud that allegedly involved over ₹10,000 crore and nearly 35 million investors across 17 states, officials disclosed on Monday. The case centers on 10 companies, with owners and officials of these firms facing legal action. According to CID officials, the perpetrators established fake businesses under various names in several states and exploited people by promising to double their investments within a short span.

"They accumulated deposits through local agents and managers, while the actual funds were later transferred to the company owners," stated a CID report. In Madhya Pradesh alone, more than 210,000 individuals invested ₹492 crore in these fraudulent enterprises, according to the officials. CID inspector general Rajvardhan Maheshwari revealed that the investigation uncovered 11 case files linked to chit-fund fraud in Ashoknagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, and Vidisha districts.

He noted that the fraud cost 1,600 investors over ₹42 crore. The accused allegedly registered their societies under the Central Cooperative Society, administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, rather than at the state level, facilitating their operations across states. CID has identified 16 accused in the case.

"We are probing how this entire network is being orchestrated across India," Maheshwari explained. "FIRs have been filed in 17 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Punjab," he added.