Bhubaneswar: State Crime Branch sleuth began interrogating Prabhas Rout, the chairman of Oscar chit fund company who was arrested from a temple guest house in Hauz Khas in Delhi yesterday on charges of duping gullible chit fund investors, at the office of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) here after bringing him back from Cuttack today.
Sources said two investigating officers (IOs) of the EOW are interrogating him in the presence of an expert chartered accountant about the investment of Rs 230 crore in the eight Oscar Group companies.
Besides, the team is also trying to find out how much personal properties he has accumulated with the money of the duped investors and the black money he has stacked elsewhere.
The sources also said the focus of the interrogation is on the nexus of the company with other chit fund companies and well-known Ollywood actors.
The company had 58 sister concerns in Gujarat involving about 13,000 investors. Apart from this, it had also opened five offices in Maharashtra.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Rout, in order to lure more customers to invest in the company, had conducted a number of stage shows in Surat for which he had hired some well-known Ollywood actors including Uttam Mohanty and Papu Pom Pom.
The sources also said the EOW may call up some Ollywood actors who were involved in the activities of the company and will try to ascertain whether Rout had just hired them to perform stage shows in Surat and Maharashtra for a fee or if these actors had invested in the company.
Besides, the EOW is also probing the involvement of some ruling political leaders with the company. Since Rout has real estate business, the EOW will try to the ascertain whether these leaders have benefited through him.