The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a four-day search operation connected to the SAGA group Ponzi scam, resulting in the seizure of highly incriminating documents and the freezing of assets worth over ₹30 crore.
Frozen assets include listed shares and securities, mutual funds, LIC policies, bank balances, and nine high-end vehicles.
The agency raided multiple residential and business premises linked to Sameer Agarwal and his associates across Mumbai and Bhopal. The case involves Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC) and other affiliated co-operative societies.
ED's national-level headquarters unit carried out the search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Moreover, the ED also seized cash amounting to ₹1.53 crore, foreign currency amounting to about ₹35 lakh and gold jewellery and silver bullion worth ₹5.25 crore during the search proceedings.
ED had initiated an investigation based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Police authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states against LUCC and its affiliated group of co-operative societies, alleging that since 2009, the public was fraudulently induced to invest in recurring deposit, fixed deposit and monthly income schemes promoted by Sameer Agarwal (SAGA) Group.
As per the ED, the public was promised high assured returns with the assurance that it would be doubled or tripled within three to five years, along with gifts such as cars, without any genuine underlying business activity to support such returns.
"Using fake banking infrastructure and promises of unrealistic returns, more than ₹10,000 crore was fraudulently collected by the SAGA group from the public. Initially, the investors were given certain payouts; however, most of the investments were siphoned off by Sameer Agrawal and his associates towards personal aggrandisement and as market commission to agents and associates," ED said.
ED further said the funds were collected from the public, predominantly in cash, and funnelled through regional cash chests before being siphoned off by promoters for investment in immovable and movable assets, both domestically and abroad, using shell companies and hawala channels.
"Search investigations have revealed an elaborate network of more than 50 such shell entities controlled by operators identified by the Directorate."
Sameer Agrawal, described as the CMD and principal controller of the SAGA Group, had left the country and is absconding. The ED has already made provisional attachment of assets in the matter under two separate Provisional Attachment Orders, arrested a key functionary of the Group, Ravi Shankar Tiwari, on July 14 this year under the provisions of PMLA, and filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court on July 24.
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