Bhubaneswar: An OPID court in Cuttack on Wednesday issued an order for the attachment of properties belonging to Artha Tatwa Chit Fund Company which was involved in a multi-crore scam.
The court directed the concerned authorities to attach the movable and immovable properties of the company including 110 acres lands in Bhubaneswar and other places, Rs 2.17 crore bank deposit, and 11 costly luxurious vehicles.
The attached properties will be auctioned and the money will be paid back to the losers, said Subrat Kumar Mohanty, government counsel, quoting court order.
“Besides Rs 2.17 crore bank deposit, the court ordered the attachment of 110 acres of landed properties recorded in the name of Artha Tatwa group MD Pradip Sethy and other directors of the company. The lands are located in Bhubaneswar and adjacent areas and other districts including Ganjam, Balasore, Angul and others,” Mohanty added.
These properties were purchased in the name of Sethy and other directors with the public funds which were collected from the people through different schemes, he said.
After an inquiry, the finance department of the State government issued an attachment order based on which the then-designated officer filed a case in OPID court, the lawyer said.
“During the hearing of the case, we submitted 113 documents and proofs of bank deposits. The statements of the Investigating officer and the designated officer were recorded during the hearing. Based on the evidence, the court has ordered the government to attach the properties,” Mohanty informed.
The properties will be auctioned in the public and money fetched from the auction and bank deposit will be distributed among the investors, he maintained.
In 2017, Artha Tatwa group chief Pradip Sethy and two other directors were convicted by a court in Bhubaneswar and sentenced to seven years imprisonment for their involvement in chit fund scam.
The group, registered under the Companies Act and Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, collected money from small investors in Odisha with a promise of high returns ranging from 15 to 20 percent.
