of fake NBFCs in Assam which had already misappropriated huge sums of money collected from the public and also termed this as an all-India problem. He insisted on a coordinated effort by the Centre and state to make the general populace aware of the issue and also protect their interests.

An NBFC is recognized as a company registered under the Companies Act (of India), 1956 and it can engage in the business of loans & advances, acquisition of shares, stock, insurance business, or chit business. However, without proper permission of the Reserve Bank of India and Security Exchange Board of India, these NBFCs can not carry out any monetary transactions or take deposits from the people.

Addressing the Chief Ministers’ Conference on Internal Security at the national capital on April 16th where Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram were also present, Mr. Gogoi drew attention towards ‘another economic offence that has duped thousands of gullible citizens which is the proliferation of dubious NBFCs’. He declared that Assam has constituted a Special Investigation Team to supervise such cases in the state. During the last one year 107 cases involving 62 companies have been detected leading to the arrest of 99 persons, recovery of Rs 65 lakhs in cash, attachment of immovable properties worth Rs 16 crores and freezing of 70 bank accounts both within and outside the state, Gogoi added.

During a visit to the eastern part of Assam, Mr. Gogoi who is also in charge of Finance received a number of complains with documents (primarily against Rose Valley Chain Marketing System Ltd, Kolkata) in a public meeting at Sivsagar on March 30th and declared that his government would start an investigation into the matter soon.

It is mentionable that the Rose Valley Group, a diversified business house worth thousands of crores of rupees was engaged with Life Insurance Corporation (of India) as a corporate agent for many years but lately the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had cancelled its license with immediate affect.

In an order signed by the IRDA Chairman J. Harinarayan on March 9th, 2012, it was declared that various facts against the corporate agent establish that ‘it will not be in the interest of policy holders for M/s Rose Valley Chain Marketing System to continue to function as corporate agent’. It also stated that ‘the license bearing no. 883899 granted to M/s Rose valley Chain Marketing System Ltd is cancelled with immediate effect’.

The Assam Government had earlier declared in the State Legislative Assembly that it was examining the feasibility of enacting a special law to regulate the activities of NBFCs which have been increasingly duping the people of the state of huge amounts of money.

Responding to a question raised by Asom Gana Parishad legislator Utpal Datta in the Assembly on March 30th, the State Education and Health minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma declared that as many as 109 non-government financial institutions are operating in Assam.

“These organizations are registered with the RBI and working as NBFCs. But the RBI has not granted permission to any one of these companies to collect people’s money as deposits,” said Dr. Sarma, who replied on behalf of the Chief Minister. He also added that ‘23 of these companies have been operating (collecting money from the public) illegally as they do not possess the RBI permission for such activities, but are operating with the help of some licenses obtained from the municipal bodies’.

During the last one year 107 cases involving 62 companies have been detected leading to the arrest of 99 persons, recovery of Rs 65 lakhs in cash, attachment of immovable properties worth Rs 16 crores and freezing of 70 bank accounts both within and outside the state

The list of ‘unauthorized non-banking financial organizations’, as Dr. Sarma disclosed in the State Assembly, includes Rose Valley, Golden Wings Multi Trade Pvt Ltd, Silican Project India Ltd, Basil International Ltd, Jiban Suraksha Real Estate Ltd, North East Region Finer Service Ltd, Unipay2U/ Unipay Gateway Trading Pvt Ltd, Manipuri Nupi Maroof Lottery, M/s Banchi Exports Ltd, Globx Pvt Ltd, Bright Dials Pvt Ltd, Unique Abtrend Pvt Ltd, Cosmic Negotiators Pvt Ltd Co, Kiran Socio Economic Cultural Organization, Style of Morris Multi Trade Pvt Ltd Co, Brahmaputra Financial Agency, Atrosend Whey Marketing Pvt Ltd, Daffodils Group of Companies, Sansayini/ Arunudoi Savings and Investment India, Shahayoop India, Prayag group, Abhilasha Real Estate and Marketing Corporation and Masum Marketing Pvt Ltd.

The BJP Parliamentarian from Guwahati,  Bijoya Chakrabarty  came out heavily against those 23 financial institutions, which are collecting money for various schemes even though they do not posses required statutory permission.  Addressing a press meet in the city, the outspoken Lok Sabha member also demanded a high level probe preferably by the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the money collected by these companies till date and urged the state government to ensure the return of the hard earned deposits of the beneficiaries.

“The government admits that there are fake financial institutions in the state but it has not been able to trace the kingpins of non-banking financial companies. But who will take responsibility for the people’s money that has already been deposited in these companies, if they flee the state?” questioned Ms Chakrabarty.

EP Desk