Odisha chit fund scam: CBI seeks 14-day remand for ex AT directors

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Dec 9:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) senior counsel today filed a petition before the special CBI court here seeking to take Jagabandhu Panda, former director of the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group, a major player in the Odisha chit fund scam, and director Manoj Pattnaik on a 14-day remand.

Tthe CBI plans to interrogate them in connection with the dubious dealings of the company, which has duped invetstors of crores of rupees.

The court will give its judgement on the CBI plea filed by the agency’s senior counsel KC Mishra on December 11.

The Commissionerate Police had arrested Panda on May 28 last year in connection with the Rs 500- crore financial scam perpetrated byn the company.

Panda, a resident of Balasore, who had joined AT Group in 2008, allegedly embezzled nearly Rs 100 crore from the company before floating another money circulation company named Swastik India along with some former AT Group employees in 2011.

Pattnaik had been arrested by the police in connection with the company’s financial fraud on May 31 last year. The arrested director Pattnaik was handling AT Group’s gold trading.

Pattnaik, who had at that time managed to get an anticipatory bail in connection with a cheating case in AT Group, had been arrested after police slapped a second case against him, relating to fraud in gold trading in the company.

He had reportedly embezzled nearly Rs 4 crore, CBI sources said.

Panda and Pattnaik are now lodged in Jharpada jail in the city.