Artha Tathwa (AT) Group chairman and managing director Pradeep Sethy, accused in the chit fund scam, was sentenced by the Special CBI Court here on Thursday to seven years of imprisonment and asked to pay Rs 250 crore.
The CBI court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on Sethi. The court in a remarkable judgement which would provide solace to the duped investors, asked Sethy to deposit Rs 250 crore, which would be returned to the investors of the company. If he doesn’t deposit the money, his properties would be attached, the court said.
Another director of the company, Manoj Patnaik, also accused in the scam, was sentenced to four years in jail and asked to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. More than 20 executives of the company are behind bars in connection with the scam.
Notably, on Wednesday, both Sethy and Mohanty had confessed to the charges framed by the CBI against the company. They made the confession during their production before the Special CBI Court.
The Artha Tatwa Group is accused of duping depositors to the tune of over Rs 500 crore in the State on the pretext of hefty returns on deposits.
The CBI, probing into the AT Group scam, had submitted the chargesheet in the case in December 2014.