Saradha Chit Fund Scam — Multi-crore Ponzi scheme collapse — CBI & ED prosecutions against accused promoters and linked individuals
The Saradha Group, a Kolkata-based conglomerate, allegedly collected deposits of up to Rs 2,500 crore from lakhs of small investors across West Bengal and adjoining states through a Ponzi/collective investment scheme before collapsing in 2013. The Supreme Court of India directed the CBI to take over the investigation from the West Bengal state SIT, citing involvement of politicians and influential persons. Parallel proceedings are ongoing before the CBI's special court and a PMLA court in Kolkata, with multiple accused persons facing trial — in August 2024, the PMLA court dismissed the ED's money-laundering complaint against Senior Advocate Nalini Chidambaram for want of a prima facie case, and the Supreme Court subsequently disposed of her related plea as infructuous.