The Calcutta High Court has handed the Enforcement Directorate the investigation into the alleged illegal sale and transfer of properties belonging to chit-fund company Vibjior, despite an earlier court restraint on dealing with the assets. The division bench also directed authorities to begin the process of seizing properties that have not yet been confiscated.
The matter came before the court on Tuesday, when the state government submitted a report on the alleged transactions. The report said a preliminary inquiry by the Directorate of Economic Offences found that several properties under the custody of a committee constituted by the High Court had changed hands between 2021 and 2025 in violation of the applicable restrictions.
The properties reportedly include assets worth Rs 54 crore in the Dooars region of north Bengal, along with properties located in several other parts of the state. The state government sought additional time to submit a complete investigation report.
The court’s direction followed allegations by lawyers representing depositors that properties were being transferred to other entities and registered or sold despite the restrictions. Depositors’ lawyers Shubhashish Chakraborty and Arindam Das raised these claims during the hearing, according to the report.
After hearing the parties, the division bench comprising Justices Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Sudip Deb directed the Enforcement Directorate to examine the alleged transactions. The court also instructed the state government, the committee formed to oversee the properties and the ED to submit detailed reports at the next hearing, scheduled for November 26.
The case is linked to allegations against Vibjior that came to light during the Saradha chit-fund investigations. Complaints of alleged fraud involving the company were reported from several parts of West Bengal. Kolkata Police had summoned the company’s owner, Raja Bhadra, multiple times in connection with the case. The report said he later left the country and was subsequently arrested by a special team of the Kolkata Police detective department at Delhi airport when he attempted to return to India.
According to police sources cited in the report, Vibjior allegedly collected nearly Rs 500 crore from the market by promising investors attractive returns. The company reportedly invested in the housing and film industries and used those investments while collecting money from customers over several years.
The properties linked to the company were later confiscated, but their alleged sale and transfer despite court restrictions has now become the focus of the proceedings. The ED, the state government and the court-appointed committee are expected to place their detailed reports before the High Court on November 26.
