Rose Valley group of companies chairman Gautam Kundu was on Wednesday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its probe in the ponzi scam, allegedly perpetrated by these consortium of companies. The Company is known to have dealt with about 70 lakh depositors, ED sources said, adding that he has still not responded to all their queries. According to sources, Rose Valley scam is far bigger than the Saradha chit fund scam.
Incidentally, Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul had, reportedly, worked as the head of Rose Valley’s entertainment division which Kundu had earlier conceded before the media. He had also told the media on a separate occasions that he had met some top politicians of the ruling Trinamool Congress at the Dellow Bungalow at Kalimpong in Darjeeling.
“Kundu has been arrested under the criminal charges and provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act. He will produced in a court tomorrow,” a source in the agency said. The agency took the action acting on the prosecution complaint filed by SEBI against the group of companies for “unauthorised issue of debentures” and violations under the Corporate Affairs Act. Sources said Kundu’s arrest was facilitated by vacating an earlier Calcutta High Court order that no coercive action could be taken against him. The agency, however, got that order vacated from Patna High Court and also from the Calcutta High Court.
“It was felt his custodial interrogation is required to probe the case further. ED will seek his custody in court tomorrow,” the source said.The ED estimates that gullible investors were duped by this group to the tune of Rs15,484 crore. The sources said the agency’s probe has detected that Kundu was the alleged “beneficial owner” of these tainted funds generated as proceeds of crime of the chit fund scam. It had, hence, registered a criminal FIR against the firm and its owners recently. Kundu has been interrogated by the agency earlier and this case is also being probed by the CBI now.
After the bank accounts were frozen, the corporate name was changed to Sun City Group and Chocolate Group.