Bhubaneswar: Enforcement Directorate’s Bhubaneswar zonal office has seized cash worth Rs 1.01 crore, frozen 182 bank accounts and attached details of multiple movable and immovable properties during searches linked to a multi-crore chit fund scam.According to an ED statement issued on Monday, searches were conducted on Aug 5 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at five residential and business premises associated with the company and its directors in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.The agency said cash amounting to Rs 1.01 crore was recovered along with several property documents, digital devices and other incriminating materials related to the company. Besides freezing 182 bank accounts, ED also issued orders covering six high-end luxury vehicles linked to the company and its directors.The money laundering investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple complaints and chargesheets filed by Economic Offences Wing, Bhubaneswar, CBI’s anti-corruption branch, Dhanbad, Odisha police and a complaint by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.According to ED, its investigation revealed that the directors and managing director allegedly ran a large-scale deposit mobilisation scheme under the guise of a real estate business. The company is accused of collecting over Rs 2,000 crore from the public in violation of statutory provisions.ED further claimed that funds were collected from thousands of investors across several states, including Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.
