New Delhi: The CBI has charged the Odisha Cricket Association and its former honorary secretary Asirbad Behera in connection with a probe into ponzi scam involving the Artha Tatwa (AT) group, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has filed its supplementary charge sheet before a special CBI court against three private persons including Behera, Kamalakanta Das of Hotel Solan Inn, and Sambit Kumar Khuntia, a private individual.
The association has also been named in the charge sheet as accused, they said.
The agency alleged that the Association, through Behera, the then honorary secretary, acted in a criminal conspiracy with the Artha Tatwa group and promoted it to boost its credibility in the eyes of public, they said.
It helped in attracting more investment in the different ponzi schemes floated by the Artha Tatwa group.
It is alleged that the accused received a sum of Rs one crore (approx.) from the said group of companies in the garb of sponsorship of the Odisha Ranjit Cricket Team and title sponsorship of Odisha Premier League, 2011.
"It was also alleged that the representative of a hotel in criminal conspiracy with other co-accused private persons was actively involved in the mis-appropriation of the immovable properties of the said Group of Companies (ArthaTatwa) at Balasore and Bhubaneswar," a CBI Spokesperson said here.
It is alleged that by doing so he became a partner to misappropriate the said properties purchased out of the funds of the group.
"In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the said accused allegedly misappropriated the sale proceeds of two immovable properties," he said.