-The Hindustan Times Demanding a CBI inquiry into Saradha Group financial scam, CPI(M) has accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew of being involved in Ponzi schemes. "Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is the leader of Trinamool Youth Congress, runs a company which is involved in real estate and micro-finance and has made a huge amount of money in the last two to three years. Its turnover has skyrocketed to 300 crores...

-The Indian Express West Bengal is not new to chit fund scams. What is unique to the Saradha Group scandal is how it targeted the poorest and the most marginalised, leaving them on the verge of devastation. From 17-year-old agents who raised money from depositors to 50-year-old widows who invested money, the Saradha Group didn't discriminate in roping them in. Since the house of cards started collapsing, two agents and two...

-The Hindu Even as thousands come to terms with the loss of life savings in the West Bengal "chit funds," it is interesting to find politicians promising new stern laws against such funds. Absence of laws is the least of the reasons for such schemes flourishing in the State. We are not short of such laws - in fact, we have plenty of laws that prohibit such schemes and provide for...

-PTI Amid a raging controversy over alleged cheating of gullible investors by Saradha group, the regulators have found that West Bengal and North-Eastern states have become a hot-bed of such frauds and NRIs from these regions account for a large chunk of defrauded people. While the Centre has announced an SFIO ( Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe into the affairs of Kolkata-based Saradha group and other such entities across the country,...

-The Hindustan Times The meltdown of the Saradha Group and subsequent focus on the state's multiple Ponzi scams are hitting Bengal's film industry where it hurts the most - right in the pocket. The release of Asharey Gappo, a film funded by Angel Cinevision & Media - a deposit-taking company (popularly known as a Ponzi fund) - has now been postponed indefinitely, even though the funding company does not have any apparent...