An amount of Rs 886 crore was released by the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday for disbursal to victims of the AgriGold scam, just days after an initial amount of Rs. 264.99 crore was released. The latest amount is expected to help those who deposited up to Rs 20,000 in the company.
A Government Order (GO) issued by the Home Department said: “The AgriGold Group of Companies have collected deposits offering high rates of interest or with a promise to register a piece of land in lieu thereof. However, the Group of Companies have neither repaid the deposits to the depositors nor did they register any land in the depositors’ names.”
Several cases were registered in police stations across Andhra, and investigation into the scam was later taken up by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), which revealed that the accused companies collected deposits amounting to Rs.6,380 crore from 32 lakh depositors from all over the country.
"The company also defaulted to a tune of Rs.500 crore to various banks. Further, the cheques issued by the companies worth around Rs.700 crore were dishonoured by various banks. The default by theAgriGold Group of Companies created widespread distress and panic among lakhs of depositors who lost their lifetime savings, having deposited in the company," the GO added.
Speaking to reporters in Amaravati, Agrigold Victims Relief Committee Convenor Lella Appi Reddy said that the ruling YSRCP would be organising a meeting at the party central office in the capital on October 29 for the victims to formulate an action plan to solve their problems.
In February, the then TDP government had disbursed Rs 250 crore for those who had invested Rs 10,000 and below.
The government had identified close to 19 lakh depositors in Andhra Pradesh alone who were cheated by Avva Venkata Rama Rao, managing director of M/s AgriGold Farm Estates India Private Limited.