The prime accused in a multi-crore chit fund fraud case, K. Nirmalan, 50, surrendered before a special court, formed under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, 1997, here on Wednesday. The Judge, M. Meera Sumathi, remanded him in judicial custody till November 29.
The case pertains to the defrauding of thousands of depositors of Nirmal Krishna Nidhi Limited, Nirmal Krishna Chit Fund and Palukal Krishna Chits Private Limited to the tune of several crores.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Kanniyakumari district has so far received 4,802 petitions from investors, who claimed that they were defrauded of ₹348.57 crore.
Nirmalan has been running the Nirmal Krishna Benefit Fund since 1996. The benefit fund had allegedly lured depositors by offering interest up to 20%. He had business operations in Kanniyakumari and also in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The fraud came to light only when Nirmalan applied for insolvency in a sub court in Thiruvananthapuram, claiming that he had collected up to ₹600 crore in deposits from as many as 13,668 depositors, but possessed properties worth only ₹100 crore, the police said.