The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh alleged on September 7 that the Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL) had pushed a woman into a debt trap by forcing her to subscribe to 90 chits in Vijayawada.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat, at Velagapudi in Guntur district, CID Additional Director General N. Sanjay said that the MCFPL had returned a mere ₹8,000 to Bondu Annapurna Devi after she paid nearly ₹7 crore through 45 high-value chits.
“The company has been demanding that she pay ₹1.7 crore that is due to close the chits,” Mr. Sanjay said, and added that Ms. Devi approached the CID and lodged a complaint to this effect.
The woman had initially subscribed to a single chit, but due to certain reasons, she started subscribing to more chits and defaulted on payments, Mr. Sanjay said. Later, on the advice of the company, she was forced to subscribe to a few more chits in her name, and in the names of her husband, family members and relatives, the CID officer said.
Despite being a defaulter, the company had encouraged Ms. Devi, who also worked as MCFPL agent, to join more chits as she was into poultry business and her husband was a veterinary doctor, and they owned certain properties, Mr. Sanjay said.
‘Signature forged’
This apart, that MCFPL had forged the signature of Priyanka, daughter of Ms. Devi, who was pursuing her studies abroad, Mr. Sanjay said. In Ms. Priyanka’s absence, the chit fund company had executed a chit in her name and completed the transactions in their books by using the forged signature, the CID alleged.
Ms. Devi, who was present, said she had lost everything, including her ancestral properties, in the process of servicing the defaulted money. “The MCFPL employees had forced me to join in nearly 90 chits only to repay their amounts,” she alleged.
Mr. Sanjay said that the total value of 65 audited chits stood at ₹14 crore. Out of them, she had paid ₹7 crore pertaining to 45 chits that had a gross value of ₹8 crore. But in return, she had received only ₹8,000 as prize money from the 45 chits. From all the 65 chits, she had received only ₹48 lakh, he added.
The CID officer further alleged that the MCFPL had been using ghost subscribers. “In the process, the company has been using the names, Aadhaar numbers and other credentials of the subscribers without their knowledge, and doing all the business with just a book adjustment,” he added.
Mr. Sanjay said that the CID had traced more than 100 ghost subscribers from the MCFPL, and suspected that their number could be around 2,000. He also alleged that MCFPL managing director Sailaja Kiron Cherukuri was interacting with the ghost subscribers and requesting them not to cooperate with the investigation officer, which was tantamount to interfering with the investigation process.
CID writes to IT Department
On the other hand, the CID had requested the Income Tax Department to probe the income sources of the subscribers of high-value chits in the MCFPL.
Mr. Sanjay said they had identified more than 800 individuals and institutions operating more than ₹1 crore in each chit.
For instance, a builder from Vijayawada had been operating about 50 chits, and each one of them was valued at about ₹1 crore, Mr. Sanjay said.
In another case related to Jagajjanani Chit Funds Private Ltd (JCFPL), the CID had attached ₹9 crore worth of properties for alleged violation of rules.
