The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against 27 accused including three private companies before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in connection with the Rs 60,000 crore Pearl ponzy scheme.
The accused cheated investors across the country by illegally operating different investment schemes, without any statutory approval with the intention to cheat them.The CBI had recently arrested eleven persons in this regard from Chandigarh, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.
The official said that the CBI had earlier registered a preliminary enquiry on the directions of the Supreme Court against the Pearl Group, which had allegedly collected around Rs 60,000 crore from around 5 crore investors across the country by illegally operating different investment schemes, without any statutory approval, with the intention to cheat them.The accused had given a land guarantee to the investors to lure them. The people were told that they would be getting interest of 12.5 percent if they would invest.
They were offered free accident insurance and income tax free maturity of their investment. The accused had also promised the investors that the value of the land they were purchasing will multiply fast.Later, on the basis of the enquiry, a case was registered against Ms PGF Limited, Ms PACL Limited, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and other directors of these two flagship companies of the Pearls Group.During investigation, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, Sukhdev Singh, Subrata Bhattacharya and Gurmeet Singh were arrested in January 2016. Later in April 2016 the CBI had filed it’s first chargesheet against them.The CBI had identified properties of Nirmal Singh Bhangoo worth Rs 1.85 lakh crore at the current market rate across the country. The accused had also invested in Australian companies.
Australian cricketer Brett Lee was a brand ambassador for the Pearl Group. IPL team Kings XI Punjab was also co-sponsored by the Pearl Group.On Wednesday the CBI filed another chargesheet in the matter. The CBI said that they are hopeful that the accused will be punished on the basis of the evidence collected by them.The court has accepted the chargesheet and has fixed the next date where the accused will be summoned after taking cognisance.
