Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today arrested two persons in connection with the activities of the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group currently under the central agency’s scanner.

The agency is also looking for five women directors of the company. The CBI arrested Bikash Swain, owner of a vernacular news daily, and Ranjan Das, one of the founder members of the group. “They were arrested on the charges of misappropriation of money and conspiracy,” said a CBI official.

Das was also chairman of multi-state credit co-operative society Swastik India. The society had allegedly siphoned off money from thousands of investors across the state. Sources said Swain had availed himself of financial benefits of Rs 4 crore from the group.

“Around a dozen of people, including five women, were on the board of directors of the group. We will interrogate them to find out more about the group’s activities,” said the official. Sources said one of the women directors with a large share in the group fled to Mumbai after the CBI had begun raids on the group’s offices last month.

The CBI continues to interrogate agents, who used to work for the group. The CBI today interrogated a dozen of agents working in Ganjam district. Yesterday, the agency interrogated as many as 18 agents of the group working in Jagatsinghpur and Bhadrak districts. The interrogation was done in the presence of chairman-cum-managing director of the group Pradeep Sethy. The CBI has also traced a number of fake investors in the group. CBI had earlier arrested two directors of the group Sambit Kumar Khuntia and Jyotiprakash Joyprakash in connection with the scam.