'Saradha, Rose Valley illicitly raised Rs 12,740 cr'

New Delhi, Feb 24: Probing illicit fund raising by Kolkata-based companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has found that group firms of Saradha and Rose Valley mobilised amounts to the tune of Rs 12,740 crore.

The ministry has completed probes against Saradha Realty India and its 13 group companies, while investigation is also over against Rose Valley Real Estate & Construction and its 18 group firms, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

"As per the investigation reports, the quantum of funds mobilised by the...two groups of companies where investigation has been completed was Rs 12,740 crore," Sinha said. Investigations found that Rose Valley group had raised as much as Rs 10,281 crore from investors, while Saradha firms had mobilised an amount of Rs 2,459 crore.

According to the details provided by the minister, probe against Saradha group was completed on July 7, 2014, while the probe was completed on December 12, the same year, for Rose Valley companies.

Separately, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley also informed the House that his ministry had ordered investigation against 38 companies so far this fiscal of which most companies belonged to Saradha and Rose Valley group. Since fiscal 2011-12, the ministry has probed a total of 102 companies while 96 chit fund companies have been investigated separately by SFIO for alleged violations.

As many as 38 firms have been probed by the ministry since beginning of April 2014, while 22 companies each came under its scanner in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Ministry had investigated 20 companies in 2011-12.

As many 14 Saradha group firms were probed by the ministry. These include -- Saradha Realty, Saradha Agro Development, Saradha Exports, Saradha Shopping Mall and Saradha Construction Company. Besides, investigations were carried out against 19 Rose Valley group companies such as Rose Valley Real Estate & Construction, Rose valley Industries, Rose Valley Hotels & Entertainment, Rose Valley Housing Development Finance Corporation and Rose Valley Airlines.

Other companies probed so far this fiscal include Speakasiaonline, Global Automobiles, ABW Infrastructure, Rose Capital, Bengal Media, Bhasank Food, Tulsiyat Tek, Silver Valley Communications and KNS Infracon. "Insofar as Companies Act is concerned, cases of violation of the provisions of the Act by Chit Fund companies are dealt with in accordance with the Act," Jaitley said in the written reply.

"So far the ministry has ordered investigations against 96 such companies by Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) of this Ministry...," he added. Some of the companies probed by the ministry in the previous fiscals are Sesa Industries, Reebok, Ambuja Cements and Vaishnavi Corporate Communications.

PTI