The Special CBI Court here asked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to interrogate Artha Tatwa (AT) Group chief Pradeep Sethy and four others accused in the multi-thousand crore chit fund scam in the State.
According to reports, the SFIO would interrogate Pradeep Sethy, Jyoti Prakash Patnaik, Srikrushna Padhi, Deepak Parekh and Manoj Patnaik. The court has directed the SFIO to interrogate the five accused and submit a report within a month, sources added.
The development assumes significance as in December last year the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached properties worth Rs 23 crore of the money deposit company. ED officials said total value of the properties attached so far touched Rs 107 crore.
The AT Group was a major player in the mega chit fund scam in Odisha. All the five are currently lodged in jail.
The CBI has estimated that the AT Group defrauded thousands of depositors of a total of about Rs 1,200 crore in the State. The ED has been probing the case under the Prevention of Money laundering Act.