-The Indian Express New Delhi/ Kolkata: Chit fund 'kingpin' names politicians from Bengal, Assam in letter to CBI. Sudipta Sen, promoter of Saradha Group, has claimed that Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha members Kunal Ghosh and Srinjay Bose assured him that his business interests will be protected "as they have a very close connection" with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an 18-page letter to the CBI, Sen has alleged that a number of politicians...

-PTI In further trouble for the Ponzi scheme scam-hit Saradha Group of Kolkata, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case to probe the allegations of financial irregularities by numerous depositors against it. The ED has registered a regular case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at its Guwahati office as the Assam police has registered an FIR against the group after allegations were made...

-IANS   An anti-tobacco group on Thursday expressed shock over West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's joke asking people to smoke more, so more revenue could be garnered to compensate investors of the collapsed Saradha financial scam. "This is a great discouragement for those working in the area of public health," said Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, executive director, Voluntary Health Association of India. Mukhopadhyay said the West Bengal chief minister announced a 10% tax hike...

-The Hoot A huge media conglomerate was built up by a chit fund company which has now collapsed. Can the West Bengal government whose MP was part of the empire disclaim responsibility, asks SAADIA. About 1400 journalists have lost their jobs because a chit fund company's little-known Chief Managing Director ventured to become a media mogul in West Bengal some three years back. Almost every three months, the Saradha Group that had...

-The Telegraph Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today asked Saradha Realty India to wind up its collective investment schemes and refund investors within three months. The company as well as its managing director Sudipto Sen have been prohibited from accessing the capital markets until all collective investment schemes are wound up and the refunds are complete. Legal proceedings and steps to wind up Saradha Realty would also be...