The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at 18 locations, including the residence of a Rajya Sabha Member and former political advisor to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in connection with the ongoing probe into the multi-crore chit fund scam in the State.
The BJD leader had fallen out with Patnaik and was expelled from the BJD in 2012 for his alleged coup attempts. He is now an Independent MP.late in the evening, the agency arrested Shubhankar Nayak, an associate of Seashore Group after prima facie evidence of his involvement in channelisation of the group’s funds.
The agency conducted the searches at 16 places in Odisha besides Delhi and Mumbai. Premises of two retired IAS officers from the State were also searched for their alleged links with the accused company Seashore Group.
Residences of some of close aides of the Seashore CMD PK Dash, who is at present undergoing judicial custody, were also searched by the CBI sleuths in Odisha. Premises of various private companies to which substantial amounts were allegedly diverted from Seashore Group and the middlemen involved in laundering money on behalf of Dash were also searched, agency sources said.
Search at the residence of Dash’s associate led to recovery of cash worth Rs14.63 lakh, two gold biscuits of 50 gm each and certain incriminating documents. The documents seized from other persons’ premises are being scrutinised, sources said.CBI had earlier registered the case against the Seashore Group its Managing Director and others in the alleged multi-crore chit fund scam in the State.
CBI’s probe into the scam may cause embarrassment for the Naveen Patnaik Government that had entrusted the Seashore Group with the task of executing different projects on public-private-partnership mode.The CBI action came a day after the agency filed its second charge sheet against Saradha group of companies in West Bengal in which former DGP (State Armed Police) and TMC vice-president Rajat Majumdar and East Bengal Club official Debabrata Sarkar were named.A few other politicians of the BJD have also been arrested earlier in connection with the scam involving other chit fund companies.