TV
The newly formed Odisha government has so far refunded Rs 49,67,68,548 (about Rs 49.68 crore) to victims of chit-fund scams in the state, officials said on Monday.
According to the interim report of the commission, a total of 1,33,755 depositors have been directly affected by companies named in the probe — including the Rose Valley Group, Golden Land Developers Group, High-Tech Estates Group and others.
Key facts and figures
The commission recommended that 4,72,651 small depositors be paid from corpus funds. Of these, 96,801 depositors have already been reimbursed Rs 46 crore from the corpus.
To compensate small depositors, the Odisha government has created a Rs 300 crore corpus fund.
Must Read: Twice fell victim to chit fund scam, didn’t get any refund: Odisha CM
A wider estimate places the total number of depositors defrauded by various illegal financial institutions at 24,75,782, who had invested Rs 68,601,442,263 (about Rs 6,860.14 crore) collectively.
Of this larger group, 3,16,063 depositors have so far been reimbursed a total of Rs 123 crore through various channels.
Government action and next steps
Officials said preparatory work for the refund drive is underway and that reimbursements are being processed in line with the commission’s recommendations. In March, the state government announced new guidelines to streamline the refund process for depositors who lost money in fraudulent schemes.
The government reiterated its commitment to ensuring that affected depositors receive justice and said it would continue to prioritise timely reimbursements until all eligible victims are compensated.
