Chances of getting entire deposited amount slim
More victims of chit fund frauds are being revealed day by day in the city and other parts of the state. Experience shows that even if the crooks are arrested by the police, chances of getting the entire deposit amount back are slim, victims say.
“More than three years ago I lost `4 lakh in a chit company that used to operate in Musheerabad. The police arrested the perpetrator and the court sent him to jail. However, we did not get our money back because the police could not seize the entire ‘deposits’ from the accused, said P. Ramaiah, a 43-year-old trader from Musheerabad. Mohammed Imran, an MCA student from Mallepalli and six of his friends had invested more than `3 lakh in a financial firm named City Info Limited at RTC cross roads.
“We made separate investments in the company dreaming about the huge return the company promised us. One day the company downed shutters and ran away. I lost `50,000 and six of my friends lost similar amounts,” Mr Imran said.
As hundreds of victims approached the police in this case, a team from the Central Crime Station has started an investigation. “We are still hoping that we will get our money back, though the police has not made any significant breakthrough in the case,” Mr Imran said.
In the Secured Investment Making Services (SIMS) India Pvt Ltd multi-crore chit fund scam in Visakhapatnam, which came to light a few months ago, P.V. Satyanarayana, supervisor in a private security firm, had invested around `15 lakh. He lost ` 12 lakh.
“We invested the money after selling gold ornaments of my wife, expecting more returns. But I got only `3 lakh before the doors of SIMS shut down. I believed the words of the CEO of SIMS and checked its history before I invested the money to fulfil the desires of my family. If the money is not recovered, I have no option except to commit suicide,” said a distraught Mr Satyanarayana.
Police officials said that even if the promoter is arrested, the money deposited is not immediately returned to the investor. “If the money is recovered from the fraudsters, the victim would have to approach the court and file a recovery petition to get back their investment. However, in a majority of cases, the full money is not recovered from the accused people since they had already used the money,” a senior police officer from Cyberabad said.