Odisha court orders attachment and auction of properties of chit fund firm

The group is among 44 chit fund companies facing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe since May 2014 for raising around ₹578 crore from people without listing itself in the stock exchange.

Published on: Feb 27, 2021, 10:32:50 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty, Hindustan Times, Bhubaneswar

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A court in Cuttack on Friday ordered attachment of Seashore Group's properties worth ₹650 crore over 13 years after the chit fund company defrauded investors in Odisha of ₹578 crore. It ordered that movable and immovable assets of the firm, including 197-acre land, 1.385 kg gold, two quintal silver be attached for their subsequent auctions.

Agri Gold set up more than 150 companies and started collecting deposits from the public with a promise of providing developed plots and farm lands or returning money at a high rate of return on maturity or pre-term. (HT Photo)

"The court order came after the finance department attached the same in 2013 under the OPID [the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors] Act framed to protect the interest of depositors cheated in financial and real estate scams," said special public prosecutor Subrat Mohanty. He said after this, the price of the land would be reassessed as per the benchmark valuation of the state government as the previous assessment was done a decade ago. "The land and other things attached would be auctioned by the competent authority and the money deposited in the bank account. After that the depositors of Seashore who had lost the money in the scam would be identified and compensated."

The group is among 44 chit fund companies facing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe since May 2014 for raising around ₹578 crore from people without listing itself in the stock exchange. Prashant Dash, a 50-year-old former economics lecturer, started the group in 2008. He offered 36% interest per annum to the investors, which was nearly four times the rates offered by the nationalised banks.

Dash was arrested in 2013 and released on bail in 2018.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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