CBI raids former Odisha Minister over chit fund scam

Bhubaneswar:  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today raided the residence of former Minister and senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra at Unit-1 here over Seashore chit fund scam.

A five-member team of the CBI  along with two witnesses is conducting the raid simultaneously at seven places. Earlier, the investigating agency had interrogated two associates-Prafull Singha and Dillip Mishra, of the Badamba Narasinghpur MLA.

In September 2017, CBI had arrested the then BJD MLA Prabhat Biswal in connection with the ponzi scam.  He was later released on a bail in June 2018.

The MLA, who is currently under home isolation after being tested positive for COVID-19, said he has been cooperating with CBI in the investigation for last seven years. “The officials asked me about the boating project on Mahanadi and verified some old documents related to it. During my tenure as Tourism Minister, I had allowed the company to set up the project as per the Government’s decision,” he said.

“The CBI is investigating the scam from various angles since 2013. I had appeared before the investigating agency earlier responding to its notice and been interrogated,” the legislator added.

Seashore Group is one of the 44 chit fund companies in Odisha that came under the scanner of CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the Supreme Court gave its order to probe their finances and transactions. The ED had registered a case against Seashore Group in 2014.

The CBI re-opened the probe into the Seashore chit fund scam in June this year.