Regulators turned a blind eye to chit fund scams: SC

judge Even as the Saradha scam investigation is yielding more arrests, the Supreme Court on Friday reiterated its commitment to bring to justice the perpetrators of multicrore ponzi scams spread across several States and hauled up regulators such as the RBI and the SEBI for turning a “blind eye.” “These regulators turned a blind eye. These people were supposed to be watchdogs, but they let this happen, including the RBI. Remember, there is nothing that can be left out of our scope [of jurisdiction],” Justice T.S. Thakur, who headed the Bench, orally observed. The hearing came on a petition filed by Subir Dey, represented by senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, for a CBI investigation into ponzi scams involving over 90 companies, which allegedly collected Rs. 1,0000000000 from small investors and then duped them. These chit fund schemes, which are not part of the Saradha scam, spread across West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tripura and neighbouring States. The Bench asked the petitioner to approach the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was already investigating chit fund scams covering these States in the light of the Supreme Court’s May 9, 2014 judgment. “We have made it clear to the CBI that it will have to investigate the cases which have been transferred to it,” Justice Thakur observed. So far, three Trinamool Congress leaders have been arrested in the Saradha chit fund scam.