Chit fund: Money ‘diverted’ to Punjabi films; ED starts probe

Jupinderjit Singh

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

The Enforcement Directorate has started a probe into money laundering in the Crown Co-operative chit fund scam, even as it has come to light that investors’ money was used to finance several Punjabi films.

The ED officials have summoned records of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police which is probing the scam involving seven companies, including Crown Co-operative Society Ltd. The SIT had recently submitted a challan in the Mohali court, naming about 180 persons as the accused.

“We are looking into various aspects of the case, mainly the money laundering trail,” said an ED official. There are allegations that the accused used hawala channels to send ill-gotten money abroad. Fake companies were also shown functioning abroad to dupe the Indian authorities.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights and Media Organisation, Punjab, represented by Amarjit Singh Rai and Arjun Sharma, and the Crown Chit Fund Scam Sangharsh Committee have submitted written statements to the ED and the Punjab Police, claiming that the investors’ money was used to finance films.

“We have evidence that Punjabi films Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya and Veeran Naal Sardari were funded by agents of chit fund companies,” said Rai and Sharma.

Jai Kumar and Maninder Singh, president and general secretary, respectively, of the Sangharsh Committee, said, “We have demanded that the source of money of these films should be investigated.”

Jai Kumar said he had received calls threatening that he would be framed or attacked. His family was attacked last year, he claimed.