Delhi: CBI arrests Pearl group Director after being deported from Fiji

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested an absconding accused, then Director of Pearl Group, on his arrival in New Delhi, in connection to a multi-crore chit fund case.

The arrested accused have been identified as Harchand Singh Gill. The accused was brought back to India upon being deported from Fiji.

The agency registered a case on February 19, 2019, against the then Chairman/CMD and Promoter/Director of Pearl group and others after conversion of Preliminary Enquiry registered earlier on the directions of the Supreme Court of India to enquire into the said allegations.

The arrested accused will be produced on Tuesday before the Designated Court at Rouse Avenue District Courts, Delhi.

Earlier on March 4, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at as many as 15 premises in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit-fund companies.

"Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches on March 1, 2023, at 15 premises consisting of residences and offices at various locations in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit fund companies that is Pincon Group and Tower Infotech Ltd. under PMLA, 2002," ED said in a press release on Friday.

ED had recorded a money laundering case against Tower Infotech Ltd and Pincon Group on the basis of FIRs registered by CBI and West Bengal Police for misappropriating Rs 156 Crore and Rs 638 crore respectively collected from its investors.

The above chit-fund companies have collected money from the public by luring them with attractive schemes and offering very high rates of interest. These two companies have cheated the public by not returning the money, ED alleged.

"Searches were carried out at the residences of directors of Pincon Group and Tower Group which include Manoranjan Roy, Hari Singh and beneficiaries Subharti Banerjee, Sanjay Basu & Mina Dey and Ramendu Chattopadhyay and beneficiaries of Eden Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, its directors- Indrajit De and Sachchidanand Rai, Indian Structural Engineering Company Pvt Ltd and Ashish Wheels Ltd," ED stated in the release.

As per the release, during the searches, incriminating documents, digital evidence consisting of mobile phones and laptops and cash worth Rs 1.27 crore were seized.

( With inputs from ANI )