Investors lost Rs 1,983 crore in Saradha ponzi scheme: Report

KOLKATA: Investors lost a whopping Rs 1,983 crore in Saradha ponzi scheme, a draft forensic audit report said, putting rest to speculation on what could be the extent of the scam where thousands of people lost money and livelihood.

The Saradha Group, which went bust in April last year, raised Rs 2,460 crore from investors and about 80 per cent of this remained unpaid. According to police sources, Saradha mobilised deposits in cash and 90 per cent of this was never parked in banks. It paid back Rs 477 crore to depositors and paid a whopping Rs 820 crore as commission to its marketing agents.

Securities & Exchange Board of India has engaged a Hyderabadbased agency to do the forensic audit. And police sources said that the agency has submitted a drafty report recently. Efforts to reach the agency proved futile.

This group, like many others in West Bengal, used to run pyramid schemes to amass money from depositors. Saradha used to mobilise deposits through four of its 239 registered companies, namely, Saradha Tour & Travels, Saradha Realty, Saradha Housing and Saradha Garden Resorts & Hotels. Saradha’s chief Sudipta Sen who is now in jail has apparently told investigators that he was anticipating the end as there was redemption pressure.