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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Kolkata Zonal Office, working alongside the Asset Disposal Committee (ADC), has reached a significant milestone in the restitution process for victims of the Rose Valley Group ponzi scam.
As of April 2026, the coordinated effort has successfully navigated multiple phases of fund recovery, returning life savings to over 1.7 lakh investors, according to a press release. The recovery process is being hailed as a major victory for transparency and victim-centric legal action. The ED's role extends beyond mere investigation; it is actively facilitating the liquidation of seized assets to ensure "Proceeds of Crime" return to their rightful owners. According to the release, the Rose Valley Group had fraudulently mobilised approximately Rs. 17,520 Crore from investors across West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and other States by promising high returns, out of which Rs. 6,666 Crore remained unpaid to investors. Since the investigation has begun, the ED has taken sincere steps for tracing, attachment, seizure and safeguarding of assets of Rose Valley Group. So far, ED has attached or seized movable and immovable properties having a book value of approximately Rs. 1,568 Crore spread across various states, including West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Tripura, intending to secure maximum restitution to the affected victims. A major milestone in the restitution process was achieved on 22 April 2025, when ED handed over a demand draft of Rs. 517.54 Crore to the ADC pursuant to orders obtained from the Special Court at Bhubaneswar, enabling restitution of attached Proceeds of Crime for the benefit of victims, the release noted. In a major development for the above cause, the ED and ADC have initiated automation of the claims and disbursement mechanism through artificial intelligence-based technology, for which approval of the High Court was obtained on March 31. The ADC has entered into an arrangement with Stock Holding Document Management Services Limited, a government company, for revamping the refund portal so that KYC extraction and multistage matching of claims can be carried out in a time-bound and efficient manner. With the revamped system, the disbursement timeline is expected to be reduced significantly, the release noted. As per the release, the ED is also investigating other chit fund scams in West Bengal and taking necessary legal steps for expeditious restitution of assets to innocent victims. ED remains committed to assisting the ADC in securing, monetising and restituting the Proceeds of Crime to the lawful claimants transparently and expeditiously. (ANI)
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