New Delhi: The CBI is likely to form a Special Investigation Team to probe the Saradha chit fund scam in which investors in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam were allegedly duped of Rs 10,000 crore.
Sources said the SIT is expected to be formed soon. The Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe on Friday on a PIL and asked the three state police forces to cooperate with the CBI investigation. The CBI will also look into the role of regulators like SEBI, authorities under the Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India as directed by the apex court. Enforcement Directorate is also looking into money laundering violation by the Saradha Group.
The apex court in its order had pointed out that there was yet another aspect which relates to the role of the regulatory authorities. “Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of regulatory authorities like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of the RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered,” a bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur said in its order.
The ED is expected to file its first charge sheet by July this year even as latest investigations by the agency have found a “documented” money trail of Rs 700-800 crore between some top politicians and officials of the defunct group.
