Published 23:22 IST, February 3rd 2020
Rose Valley scam: ED attaches Rs 70 crore worth assets of St Xaviers and SRK's KKR
Enforcement Directorate on Monday attached assets worth Rs.70.11 crore including bank accounts of Multiple Resorts, St.Xavier’s College, KKR in Rose Valley Scam
In a massive development in the Rose Valley Group scam, the Enforcement Directorate on Monday attached assets worth Rs.70.11 crore including bank accounts of Multiple Resorts, St. Xavier’s College, and the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders Sports Private Limited. ED stated that the attached properties comprise of 24 acres landed property at West Bengal's Ramnagar and Mahishdal, Purba Medinipur, flats in Mumbai's Dilkap Chambers and an acre of landed property at Kolkata's New Town area apart from Rose Valley group's hotel on VIP road. The Enforcement Directorate has been probing the Rs 17,520 crores money laundering scam of the Rose Valley group since 2015.
ED's probe into Rose Valley scam
After FIRs were filed by West Bengal police against Rose Valley Group of Companies and others, the ED took over the case. The FIRs revealed that Rose Valley Group of Companies was illegally and fraudulently collecting deposits from the public with the intention to cheat them by falsely promising high returns on their investment. These offenses were punishable under Sections 120B & 420 of IPC - charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had raided several locations in Kolkata in connection to the scam.
What is the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam?
The Rose Valley financial scandal is a major financial scam caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Rose Valley Group which collected more than ₹ 17,520 crores from the public throughout India - including West Bengal, Assam, and Bihar by luring depositors with the false promises of high return/interest on their deposits. While Rs 10, 850 crores was refunded, the remaining ₹6670 crore is still unpaid. Earlier ED had identified and attached properties under PMLA having tentative market value of around ₹4,680 Crores which includes several luxurious resorts, hotels, vehicles, flats, lands, gold, jewellery, etc.
The Rose Valley group had allegedly floated a total of 27 companies for running the chit fund operations of which only 12 were active. Gautam Kundu, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, has had properties worth Rs 293 crores attached by the ED in connection with the scam. It is alleged that the company had made "cross investments" in various other floating companies to reduce its liabilities towards investors.
Updated 23:22 IST, February 3rd 2020