THE CBI has booked former TMC MP K D Singh and his son in connection with an alleged chit fund scam in Uttar Pradesh. The agency has alleged that a company floated by Singh promised investors returns up to 10 times of investment but many investors never got paid.
Singh was a Rajya Sabha MP between 2010 and 2014 representing TMC. The case was earlier registered by UP police and transferred to CBI on request of the UP government.
“The CBI has registered a case against former Member (Rajya Sabha); his son and seven others on the request of Uttar Pradesh Government… and has taken over the investigation of the case Crime No.034/2021, earlier registered at Police Station Kotwali, Azamgarh (UP) on the allegations of cheating & misappropriation of about Rs 100 crore invested by a large number of private persons in two private companies (Chit Fund Companies) on false promises by the accused,” the CBI said in a statement.
The agency on Tuesday conducted searches at 12 different locations, including in Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, which led to recovery of incriminating documents, it claimed.
The case was registered on a complaint of one Vijay Kumar Chauhan, alleging cheating and misappropriation of funds invested by him and others in Singh’s companies: Alchemist Infra Reality Limited and Alchemist Township Limited.
Chauhan alleged that he was given false promises to make the investment twice, thrice and 10 times within a period of six years, nine years and 16 years respectively. However, the investors did not get their money back, the FIR alleged.
Notably, ED has already been probing Singh’s companies in the same matter.
ED had initiated its probe into the affairs of Alchemist Group in 2018 on the basis of FIRs registered by Kolkata Police against Kanwar Deep Singh, his son Karandeep Singh, M/S Alchemist Township India Limited, M/S Alchemist Holdings Limited and various other group companies and their directors for allegedly cheating thousands of customers and investors.
“Kanwar Deep Singh through companies namely, M/s Alchemist Township India Limited and M/s Alchemist Holdings Limited had raised huge amount of money from thousands of customers in the garb of investments by luring them of high returns and also against sale/booking of plots and flats etc. So far investigation has revealed that these funds raised from public were not used for the intended purpose and were diverted/siphoned off to various group companies,” ED had said then.
According to the agency, money collected from the people were transferred in a circular manner in order to conceal and layer. “Further, various web of entities involved in this process are having dummy Directors. There Directors have no idea to state the purpose for which the said money was being collected and transferred. ED is also investigating one more case against M/s Alchemist Infra Reality Limited based on SEBI prosecution complaint and has attached property worth Rs. 239.29 Crores,” the ED statement had said.
During raids conducted on premises associated with Singh in 2019, the agency had claimed to have recovered Rs 35 lakh in cash, USD 10,000, property papers and documents pertaining to circuitous financial transactions from his official residence in Delhi.
Notably, Singh was raided on a day that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee met Home Minister Amit Shah.