Chit Fund Probe Panel Submits 5th Interim Report

Cuttack: Justice MM Das Commission, probing the multi-crore chit fund scam, submitted its fifth interim report to the Odisha government on Friday.

The Commission handed over his report to the Home Secretary at the State Secretariat here.

The Commission after the fifth-phase verification of 2,52,000 affidavits has identified about 50,000 small investors (who have invested Rs 10,000 and less) and issued notice to 486 chit fund companies.

The state government had formed the chit fund commission of inquiry on July 9, 2013.

The Commission had submitted its first interim report on May 25, 2016, after verifying 26,976 affidavits. In its second interim report on February 3, 2017, the commission had informed the state government about verification of 61,252 affidavits.

In its third interim report on July 25, 2017, the Commission had identified 60,941 small investors while in the fourth interim report submitted on January 18, 2018, it had verified 1,38,387 affidavits and identified 55,563 small investors.

The inquiry commission has so far identified 1,16,504 small investors who have invested less than Rs 10,000 in the chit fund companies.

The Commission has recommended the state government to take measures for refund of money of the small investors on a priority basis.

The state government had set up a Rs 300-crore corpus fund in 2013 to refund small depositors who had invested their money in chit fund companies.