The Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested a former YSR Congress leader from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh for his alleged involvement in a chit fund scam.
The accused Malla Vijay Prasad is a former MLA and current Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Education and Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation.
A team of the Crime Branch raided Prasad’s residence and office in Visakhapatnam on Monday and seized Rs 45 lakh and several incriminating documents.
As per the complainants, Prasad’s Visakhapatnam-based Welfare Group of Companies had in 2001 started operations. Later, the firm opened branches in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The company collected money from people on the promise of lucrative returns but never paid them the money. It was alleged that the company duped investors of around Rs 1,200 crore.
The firm was active in Brahmapur, Jeypore, Similiguda, Bhadrak, Baleswar and some other areas in Odisha. Many cases are pending against the firm at various police stations in Odisha.
