Economic offenses, by their very nature, strike at the heart of societal trust and the nation’s economic stability. Perpetrators of such crimes often possess substantial resources and influence, enabling them to elude the grasp of justice with alarming ease, the Orissa High Court observed while dismissing the bail application of the principal accused in the RS 17,000 crore Rose Valley Group chit fund scam.
The Rose Valley Group of Companies, registered with Registrar of Companies at Kolkata, had collected crores of rupees from unsuspecting and gullible depositors across Odisha, mostly in Balasore district. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the fraud, uncovered the fraudulent collection of Rs 17,367 crore from lakhs of gullible investors under the guise of high return schemes.
The petitioner (Gautam Kundu, Chairman of the Rose Valley Group), being accused of orchestrating a financial scheme of monumental proportions, represents a flight risk that cannot be understated. The wealth amassed through such fraudulent means provides an offender with both the motive and the means to abscond, thereby subverting the due process of law. His access to substantial resources and influence not only facilitates the possibility of absconding but also heightens the danger of witness tampering and evidence interference, Justice Dr S K Panigrahi ruled in a judgment pronounced on Tuesday.
These risks deeply rooted in the petitioner’s financial power and the magnitude of the offense, necessitate rigorous judicial scrutiny. To grant bail in such circumstances would jeopardise the integrity of the legal process and compromise the pursuit of justice. Considering the ongoing nature of the investigation and the severe financial consequences of the alleged fraud, the Petitioner’s continued custody is imperative, the order concluded.