New Delhi: Union minister of state (MoS) for finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Saturday handed over a demand draft of ₹515.31 crore to justice DK Seth (retired), chairman of Assets Disposal Committee (ADC) that was formed on the directions of the Calcutta high court, to oversee the Rose Valley multi-state chit fund case.
Enforcement director (ED) Rahul Navin was also present during the handing over of the demand draft, which will be used to return money to around 7.5 lakh defrauders
“It is estimated that this amount will be used to restitute money to approximately 7.5 lakh victims out of the total claims of 31 lakh lodged so far with the asset disposal committee (ADC). Earlier, the ED had handed over ₹22 crores to the ADC which was used to restitute money to 32,319 lawful investors,” a statement issued by the ministry of finance read.
The ministry said on Saturday that this amount of ₹515.31 crores was attached by ED in 2015-17 by probing the money trail and tracing 2,987 different bank accounts where the money collected from innocent victims had traversed.
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 officials said.
{{/usCountry}}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 officials said.
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Investigation revealed that the Rose Valley Group companies had collected ₹17,520 crore by luring primarily low-income individuals with promises of land parcels or time-shares in hotels. In cases of non-delivery, they assured high-interest refunds upon maturity of investments. Of this amount, ₹6,666 crore—constituting proceeds of crime—remained unpaid to investors.
“These bank accounts were then seized or attached following due process of law and converted into more than 700 fixed deposits (FDs) after confirmation of attachment by the adjudicating authority. ED has also attached other movable and immovable assets of ₹1,172 crores (present market value of the assets is estimated to be more than ₹2,000 crores), which is also in process of liquidation and refund to the victims,” the statement added.
The MoS statement also said that this is one of the single largest investigations of this type undertaken by the ED, and an order passed by the special court (PMLA) at Khurda, Bhubaneswar, on March 29, 2025, has paved the way for the return of investors’ money all over the country through the ADC.