The Central Bureau of Investigation has begun probing an alleged Rs 65-crore investment scam involving Viswadeepthi Multi State Agri Co-operative Society Ltd after a direction from the Kerala High Court, with the agency’s Kochi anti-corruption unit registering an FIR and taking over the case.
The FIR was registered on September 29 under provisions of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The alleged offences include criminal conspiracy and cheating. The case names 12 accused, including the society and 11 of its board members and promoters.
According to the FIR, the society, headquartered in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, operated branches in Kerala and sought deposits from members of the public by offering interest rates ranging from 12% to 14.5%. The accused allegedly failed to repay the deposits, including the principal amounts, resulting in financial losses for depositors.
The deposits were allegedly collected between April 2023 and November 2024, officers said. The CBI’s intervention follows the Kerala High Court’s direction and shifts the investigation to the central agency’s anti-corruption unit in Kochi.
The case concerns the functioning of a multi-state co-operative society across state borders, as well as the safeguards available to people placing their savings in investment and deposit schemes. The FIR’s invocation of the BUDS Act indicates that the investigation will examine allegations relating to the collection of deposits through a scheme alleged to be unregulated, alongside the criminal allegations recorded under the BNS.
The society and its board members have been named as accused in the FIR. The information available in the case report records the allegations against them; it does not establish guilt. The CBI investigation will determine the circumstances under which the deposits were collected, the promised returns, the alleged non-repayment and the financial losses claimed by depositors.
The reported deposit period ended in November 2024, while the CBI registered the FIR on September 29 after the High Court direction. Further action will depend on the agency’s investigation into the society’s operations, its branches in Kerala and the transactions cited in the case.
