Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a joint director to probe the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam in which investors in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam were duped of Rs. 10,000 crore.
The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI last week after West Bengal police department investigating the case failed to make any headway.
It directed the police forces of the three states to cooperate in the probe with CBI.
The apex court had said that no breakthrough was made in the conspiracy angle, money trail and seizure of properties in the scam.
The CBI will also look into the role of regulators like SEBI, authorities under the Companies Act and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as directed by the apex court.
The court in its order had pointed out that there was yet another aspect which relates to the role of the regulatory authorities.
“Investigation conducted so far puts a question mark on the role of regulatory authorities like SEBI, Registrar of Companies and officials of the RBI within whose respective jurisdictions and areas of operation the scam not only took birth but flourished unhindered,” a bench headed by Justice TS Thakur said in its order.
