Over years, Bengal?s chit fund giants extended their tentacles from sports fields to film sets. As the Saradha group collapses into a heap, investigators are knocking the doors of several film companies as well as cricket and football ventures patronised by the chit fund barons.
Central investigating agencies probing the Saradha Group, Rose Valley and Parag Group believe some of them have diverted chit fund money into film companies in Kolkata and Guwahati. Sources said the special task force constituted in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and tax department will seek details of financial transactions from several Bengal-based football clubs and film distribution and production arms of chit fund companies. ?If required, financial records of Kolkata?s football clubs like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and the United Sports Club can be sought,? a senior official said.
The Rose Valley Group is a leading sponsor of East Bengal. It was also associated with the Shah Rukh Khan-promoted IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. In 2012, Rose Valley was one of the jersey sponsors for KKR, reportedly spending R5 crore. Sources said the group continues to provide logistical and financial support to the IPL team through several holding entities. The Group, however, has told the investors that it is financially sound and capable of returning investments.
?The Registrar of Companies in Kolkata has been asked to coordinate with the special task force constituted by the corporate affairs ministry to probe chit fund companies,? the official said.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has served notices to several entities including the MPS Group and Sun Plant and barred them from collecting deposits.
Saradha has financed over two dozen Bengali and Assamese films in the past three years. Rose Valley, which raises money through hotel and tourism-related membership schemes, has produced around 18 movies and three more will soon be released.
?All angles will be probed. Any fraud-related investigation has to encompass all aspects of the investments and returns made by the suspect company or the entity,? the official quoted above said.
In March, corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot had shared a state-wise list of companies against which complaints were received for indulging in Ponzi schemes. There were 73 firms based in West Bengal ? including Saradha Realty ? who were accused of breaching rules on collective investments.
As per the MCA data, Vibgyor Allied Infrastructure, Rose Valley Real Estates Constructions, Rose Valley Industries, Silver Valley Communications, Rupasi Bangla Projects, Saradha Realty, RTC Properties India, Goldmine Agro, Tower Infotech, MPS Aqua Marine, MPS Greenery Developers, Prayag Infotech Hi-Rise are among the entities under the government probe now.