​24 companies came under SFIO lens for ponzi activity in April-October

NEW DELHI: SFIO probe has been ordered against 24 companies for ponzi activities in the first seven months of this fiscal while investigations have been completed with respect to two firms, the government said today.
Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Lok Sabha that the central government investigated affairs of 185 companies through SFIO in the last nearly four years.

These firms fell in the category of "so-called chit funds/MLM (Multi Level Marketing) / ponzi activities for violation of the Companies Act", he noted.

Till October 31 of the current financial year, SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe was ordered against 19 companies in West Bengal, 3 in Assam, 1 each in Maharashtra and Odisha, as per data given by the minister in a written reply.

Out of the 24 companies, investigations have been completed with respect to two.

In 2015-16, SFIO probe was ordered against 47 such companies while the number stood at 51 in 2013-14.

Meghwal, in a separate written reply, said that in the last nearly four years, SFIO filed 258 prosecutions in various courts.

"In this period, 163 cases have been disposed of by the courts, of which there has been successful conviction in 77 cases wherein punishment including imprisonment to directors as well as fines have been imposed," he said.