Saradha scam: ED to file first charge sheet by July

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to file its first charge sheet in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam by July this year even as latest investigations by the agency have found a "documented" money trail of Rs 700-800 crore between some top politicians and officials of the defunct group.

The agency, which has begun recording the statement of a number of MPs and politicians of West Bengal, Assam and Odisha over the past few weeks, has pegged the magnitude of the scam and loss to the depositors at Rs 2,500 crore.

"The ED will file the first charge sheet in the Saradha case by July this year. The charge sheet will be based on investigations made till now and statements recorded by the ED of some politicians and MPs involved in the scam and will be submitted before a competent court," sources privy to the development told PTI.The central probe agency, which has registered a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) in the alleged Saradha financial irregularities and fraud, has also found evidence of a suspicious money trail of about Rs 700-800 crore.

"These evidence will be a part of the first charge sheet by the ED. The trail of the suspicious funds have been tracked through information obtained from various banks and the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Union Finance Ministry," the sources said.

The agency, the sources said, has also prepared an assessment report in this case which pegs the scam's value and loss to investors at Rs 2,500 crore. The scam, which will be probed by CBI following a recent direction of the Supreme Court, was being perpetrated largely in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam and came to the fore early last year after duped investors raised their voice of grievance.