The Andhra Pradesh government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to order the winding up of operations of the Margadarsi Chit Fund Pvt Ltd promoted by media baron Ramoji Rao in the state.According to reports the decision has been taken following the detection of a series of violations like diversion of funds and investing them in speculative markets.
The state government would conduct a detailed audit on all 37 branches of the Margadarsi Chit Funds Pvt Ltd under Section 61 (4) of the Chit Funds Act, 1982.A chit auditor has been appointed under Section 61 (2) of the Act, to take the matter forward.
The auditor would also examine how Margadarsi resorted to illegal mobilization of deposits by conducting a simultaneous audit in 37 branches.To unearth the scam the auditor will dig deep into the chit fund accounts.
Margadarsi has a list of three subsidiaries including Margadarsi Chits Pvt Ltd Chennai; Margadarsi Chits (Karnataka) Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru and Ushakiron Media Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.As per the list of shareholders, in Ushakiron Media Pvt Ltd alone, the company invested a share capital of ₹ 2 crores, amounting to 88.5 per cent of the paid-up capital.The company was not engaged in chit fund business and it was carrying on other businesses through the subsidiary.
The auditor, as per bank statements, noticed that the onward transfers into mutual funds and fixed deposits took place.For example, ₹ 29 crores were transferred to ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund on April 9, 2021, from the current account of No.347701010023032 of Union Bank of India, Ramkote Branch in Hyderabad.
The Stamps and Registrations Department Inspector General V Ramakrishna, who is also in charge of the Chit Funds Management Authority, has already declared that the government would not hesitate to wind up the activities of Margadarsi in Andhra Pradesh if the alleged violations were proven and the company failed to cooperate with the probe agency in the alleged chit fund scam.
The department has taken the help of the Crime Investigation Department to file criminal cases against Ramoji Rao and his daughter-in-law Sailaja Kiran.The CID has written to the Enforcement Directorate to probe into the alleged money laundering by Margadarsi with the public money.
If the ED takes up the case, it will tighten the noose around Ramoji Rao soon.
