CBI files five chargesheets in online trading scam in Assam

New Delhi: The CBI has filed five more chargesheets in Guwahati against 18 accused in separate cases of an online trading scam in Assam where thousands of gullible investors were cheated by offering high returns on their deposits, officials said Monday.

The Guwahati unit of the CBI has charged 16 private persons and two companies Upepithets Holdings Pvt. Ltd (UHPL) and Brahmaputra Sanchay and Biniyog Cooperative Society Ltd (BSBCSL).

In its chargesheet against Upepithets Holdings Pvt Ltd, the CBI has alleged that its Director Hemen Rava and Manager Sankar Saha were involved in orchestrating an illegal deposit scheme that solicited funds from investors under false pretence.

"They used deceptive means, including notarised stamp papers, to lure investors with the promise of guaranteed monthly returns of six per cent and above. They cheated the investors and misappropriated the deposits for their personal gains," the CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.

The charge sheet against Brahmaputra Sanchay and Biniyog Cooperative Society Ltd also named its then chairmen Jiten Deka and Himangshu Talukdar, Branch Manager Indrani Das, and Secretary Sanjib Deka.

The group ran an unregulated deposit scheme of Brahmaputra Sanchay & Biniyog Cooperative Society.

The scheme "Grihalakshmi" allegedly lured with promises of substantial returns such as bonus and interest of 15 per cent annually without any viable business model that allured potential depositors to deposit a large sum of their hard-earned money.

The third CBI charge sheet is filed against four private persons namely Mainao Brahma, Dipankar Bhatta, Jyotisman Sarma and Sumit Barman who allegedly entered into a conspiracy and were running an unregulated deposit scheme with the intention to defraud the general public.

They allegedly diverted and misappropriated the deposits for personal use and for purchasing landed properties, construction of buildings and purchasing vehicles, etc.

The CBI filed the fourth chargesheet against Rishiraj Gogoi and Joy Modak who were allegedly involved in running a stock trading business in the guise of their Company "Go Millions LLP" formed for selling various cosmetics and other products.

"They... made an arrangement to collect deposits from general public by way of business through UPI and Bank Account and did not deposit the amount in any regulated deposit scheme. All the accused are in Judicial Custody," the CBI said in the statement.

The CBI also filed a chargesheet against Sankar Kumar Biswas, Rofiqul Islam, Dinesh Ch. Ray and Niranjan Kumar Malakar who collected money through UPI, Cash and cheques from different persons for investments in the name of Titan Capital Market.

The accused did not invest the amount received from the different depositors with any Regulated Deposit Scheme.

"They cheated the depositors by collecting money from them for investments and did not return the said amount to them," the agency said.

The CBI has successfully traced databases containing details of depositors who were deceived into investing in these unregulated deposit schemes, it said.