Bhubaneswar: Founder of Venkatesh Films Shrikant Mohta, an accused in Rose Valley Group chit fund scam, was sent to Jharpada Special Jail here on Friday after a Court of Special CJM (CBI Cases) rejected his bail plea and sent him to judicial custody.
He was arrested by the central investigating agency from Kolkata the previous day.
According to CBI sources, Mohta had allegedly misappropriated around Rs 24 crore in the name of producing films and siphoned off this money illegally collected by the Ponzi firm from the residents of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and elsewhere.
It was further alleged that he invested part of funds in procurement of paintings through a private films company and also foisted other accused persons to make similar purchases. The firm had collected Rs.15,000 crore from public.
Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency had registered a case against the company and Chairman Gautam Kundu in 2014, who was arrested the following year.