Indiranagar chit fund swindles Rs 25 crore

As many as 150 investors of a private chit fund in Indiranagar have been duped to the tune of at least Rs 25 crore.

After several complaints, the deputy registrar of Co-operative Societies registered a case of fraud against Indiranagar Chit Funds Private Limited, the firm in question.

A departmental source said over 150 people had invested several crores at the Indiranagar firm in the last few years. Investors sensed something amiss when the company began delaying payments and promised returns.

With no sign of payments even after furnishing the last installments, complaints from investors started pouring in at the Registrar of Co-operative Societies and Chit Funds.

Angry investors stormed the office of the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies and Chit Funds at Sahakara Soudha on Margosa Road in Malleswaram on Thursday, demanding the deputy registrar’s intervention.

Investors said the number of victims and the money swindled could go up as many are not aware that the company has stopped paying returns.

Though the victims had taken prior appointment with the officials for arbitration with the chit fund company officials, absence of the deputy registrar added to the victims’ anger, who lashed out at the officials. Despite repeated calls, deputy registrar Ashwath Narayan informed them that he was held up at CID over a case.

V Anantha Narayan Ayyar (69), a resident of Marathahalli and a businessman, told DH that he had invested Rs 10 lakh, paying Rs 25,000 per month for 40 months. “In December 2018, I learnt that the company is dilly-dallying over promised returns though I had paid all installments,” said Ayyar.

Investors ranged from small shops owners to big hotel proprietors, furniture showrooms and retired government employees.

Srinivasan H, another investor complained: “I had invested Rs 69 lakh in three different chits over five years.”

Mahendra Varman retorted: “I don’t think I will get my money back, but I will go after them legally.”