Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday assured victims of the AgriGold scam that speedy disbursal of compensation would take place, and instructed the state's Advocate-General to make effective arguments in court, to ensure the same. Naidu, who took stock of the progress of the case, said that the tainted firm’s properties must be auctioned soon, so that the money can be used as compensation for the victims.
Naidu also pointed out that two committees comprising Ministers and senior IAS officers, were already looking into the issue and attempting to recover the dues that the company owed to its investors.
Meanwhile, the opposition YSRCP held a meeting in Vijayawada and decided to up the ante, staging protests seeking justice for the victims. The YSRCP said that relay hunger strikes would be held on December 22 and December 23.
The scam
Around 3.2 million people in many states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, were duped by the AgriGold scam, which came to light in 2014. AgriGold owes Rs 6,380 crore to over 32 lakh depositors in nine states, with Andhra Pradesh leading the list with 19 lakh depositors.
The company lured several lakh customers with the promise that their investment would be returned to them with higher returns. The company allegedly took this money and invested heavily in real-estate, before branching out to other areas as well, and finally duping the customers.
In September this year, the Essel-Zee Group’s Subhash Chandra Foundation told the Hyderabad High Court that it wanted to withdraw its proposal to take over the scam-hit AgriGold Group of companies, and filed an affidavit seeking permission to reclaim Rs 10 crore that it had deposited for the process.
The foundation had proposed to take over the tainted company by paying Rs 4,000 crore and said that it would do so in a phased manner. However, the Andhra Pradesh government had rejected the proposal stating that it would "further complicate the issues and situation with the interest of the depositors taking a back seat."