Complaints on investment fraud for over Rs 2,000 crore against as many as 50 firms have been lodged in Kerala since 2021 under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act.

According to a government release, the process of attaching the properties of at least 27 such firms and its proprietors is underway.

The remaining firms will also be penalised on the basis of police reports. The cases linking multiple firms and concerning union territories like those against Popular Finance and Universal Trading Solutions have been handed over to the CBI, the release said.

The complaints are being dealt with by a Competent Authority set up in Kerala in November 2021 under the BUDS Act, 2019. Former Home Secretary, Sanjay M Kaul is the competent authority and under him 14 district collectors and additional district magistrates, as nodal officers, have been appointed.

How to lodge a complaint?
Those who were defrauded can approach the competent authority. The public can register their complaints via email at ca.budsact@kerala.gov.in or mail ato Sanjay M Kaul IAS, Competent Authority, BUDS Act, Room No 374, Main Block, Government Secretariat.

Recently, the Ernakulam district collector had issued an order to attach the properties of at least seven firms that had allegedly defrauded investors.

How the process works?
The BUDS Act that came into effect in 2019 aims to provide a comprehensive mechanism to ban unregulated despoit schems to protect the interest of depositors.

If the complaints are found to be legitimate after a police enquiry, the competent authority shall pass an interim order to provisionally attach the deposits taken and the money or other properties owned by the deposit taker.

As per the Act, once the additional district sessions courts (Designated Courts) approves the sale of the attached properties, the depositors are granted relief.