The names do not matter; neither the investment options nor the amounts involved. Despite the repeated crackdown on fraudulent chit firms and recruitment agencies, the city still appears to be a fertile ground for a ring of financial impostors who have taken gullible persons for a big ride.
According to official estimates, around 175 cheating cases were reported from various stations in Kochi in the first six months of the current year. The total number of cases registered last year was 563 as against 665 in 2014. Though the numbers have come down with each passing year, cases of cheating continue to top the city crime chart, throwing the police into a tizzy. According to the police, the growth in commercial activity in the city is the key reason behind the rising number of cheating cases.
Visa casesWhile visa and recruitment cases filled the list of cheating cases till a few months ago, the police have received no complaints in this connection ever since ‘Operation Overseas’ in April this year. However, the mushrooming of illegal chit funds is still a cause for concern,” said a senior police officer.
For instance, the case against Karivelimattom Chits Private Limited at Kalamassery has brought to light the chinks in the crackdown against financial scamsters in Kochi. “It has been over three months since the firm defaulted its payments to several of its investors. The issue, however, came to our notice only two days ago when they approached us en masse,” the officer added.
The Kalamassery police have so far received more than 100 petitions against the firm, besides those at various stations in the neighbouring district.
The police have registered as many as six cases against Navas, the firm’s owner, and Salam, its manager, for cheating, breach of trust, and violation of the Chit Fund Act.
Investigations so far have revealed that the firm, which runs 26 offices in Ernakulam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Idukki districts, had appropriated a fund of over Rs.15 crore.
