File picture of depositors protesting in front of the economic offences wing demanding action against Flourish India Limited in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 10: Officials of the crime branch's economic offences wing today arrested one of the directors of Flourish India Limited, a money deposit collection company, which has allegedly duped thousands of investors.
The accused has been identified as Pradeep Kumar Dash, the fourth director of the company. The wing had arrested the company's chairman-cum-managing director Prasanna Dash in July last year. So far, 13 persons of the company are in custody.
The company, which started functioning in 2006, had a number of schemes for the investors and was collecting money starting from Rs 5 lakh onwards with a promise of high returns and higher interest than the scheduled banks. Sources said the company had cheated around 40,000 investors, mostly in the rural areas, and the amount raised by it could be nearly Rs 60 crore.
'So far, the police have registered two cases against the company on the basis of complaints lodged by the duped investors. Later, these cases were handed over to the economic offences wing. Investigation is on to find out involvement of other people,' said the wing's deputy director-general Sanjay Kumar. The company has 132 branches in the state. The group was running a public school in the city.
The main office of the company was functioning from Sishupalgarh on the city outskirts before closing its business in January last year.
In December last year, the crime branch had submitted a proposal with the state finance department for confiscation of the company's property.
The investigating agency so far had seized 251 acres, bank balance of Rs 12 lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh cash and two cars of the company's office-bearers.
In a related incident, Seashore Group chief Prashant Dash today demanded arrest of the conspirators of the scam. Without naming the conspirators, Dash said the conspirators had played a major role in the Seashore Group's affairs.
'The CBI has already interrogated some of them, and some of them might reappear before the investigating agency. I have given all the information to the CBI during my remand,' Dash told reporters while leaving the court premises.
