Raids against Margadarshi chit fund group in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh's Stamps and registration department are carrying out searches against Margadarshi Chit fund group. Searches are on across multiple locations including four in Vijayawada. It is pertinent to note that Margadarshi is the flagship chit fund group of media baron Ch Ramoji Rao and has been embroiled in a scam.

A week before, Vundavalli Arun Kumar - a Former Congress MP, challenged Ramoji Rao who heads the Eenadu Group to prove his claim that he was not part of the chit fund. He alleged a fraud of ₹2,600 crore of Margadarsi Chit Funds scam in Andhra Pradesh and demanded that federal agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or CBI take it up.

The chit fund had mobilized ₹2,600 crore from people in the form of deposits, he alleged.

This case goes back to 2016 when a case was filed in the High court against Margadashi but was dismissed. The case however resurfaced in 2020. "In 2020, I challenged the high court verdict in the Supreme Court. Andhra Pradesh government also impleaded in the case by filing a special leave petition, accusing Margadarsi Financiers of being guilty of violation of not only the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act but also the provisions of the Income Tax Act and also the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act, 1999," Vundavalli said in a statement.

Later on September 19, the Supreme Court served notices on Margadarsi Financiers and also allowed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and others to intervene in the case. The raids follows a sequences of developments in the case.