Bengaluru chit scam: Accused Kerala couple gets bail, collected ₹63 crore from 523 investors

The Bengaluru-based Kerala couple, Tomy A V and Shini Tomy, accused of a multi-crore chit fund fraud, collected a total of ₹63 crore from 523 people as chit subscription and deposit, according to the preliminary investigation. The Bengaluru Principal City Civil and Sessions Court, which has granted the couple an anticipatory bail, has directed them to appear before the Investigation Officer on or before September 4 to cooperate with further investigation.

They have been asked not to change their residence or leave the country pending disposal of the case without prior permission of the court. The case initially probed by Ramamurthy Nagar police has now been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (Economic Offences) under the Karnataka police.

The prosecution told the court that the couple collected the amount through the accounts of the persons working with them with an intention of committing fraud and that they escaped to Kenya by selling their apartment. The prosecution also submitted documents showing that they collected a sum of ₹31.09 crore from 356 persons. The investors have formed a collective and collected details about individual deposits, which were compiled after the case was registered. 

The court, however, observed that it was unclear how the investigating agency obtained this information and that the prosecution did not provide any details regarding the period during which these amounts were collected or whether these amounts were due from the couple to the individuals named in the list.

The prosecution said that while the chit fund owners were required to deposit the chit money in the name of the approved bank, the couple did not comply with this provision. Instead, they accepted the funds in their personal accounts and through employees and family members. It was also cited that they collected funds by offering 18 per cent interest.  The court said that even if the contentions are accepted, the alleged violations by the couple cannot be a ground to refuse anticipatory bail.

The owners have also moved the Karnataka High Court with a plea to quash the FIR. Tomy and Shini, in their petition, said that they left for Nigeria on July 3 for a period of two weeks to attend a function of their family friend. The counsel of the couple said that they returned to India on July 16 and the complaint was lodged on July 5 when they were out of the country.

Tomy and Shini told the court that they are partners of A & A chit firm and they have got all the requisite licenses to run the business and they have been running the firm for the past 25 years. The statement of the couple that they left for Nigeria contradicts the claims of Bengaluru city police who have said that there was evidence to show that they left for Kenya. The police have not divulged details about the travel history of the couple so far.

The couple have been booked for cheating, criminal breach of trust and under the relevant sections of the Chit Funds Act and Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act.