CBI summons two IAS officers over ponzi link

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Bhubaneswar: Two IAS officers including one serving bureaucrat were summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Sunday for their alleged involvement in the Seashore multi-crore chit fund scam in the state.
The bureaucrats, Parag Gupta and Sangram Keshari Ray, are of Odisha cadre.
When the scam unfolded, Gupta was Secretary of Tourism department and Ray general manager of Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC). The CBI has asked the duo to appear before it Monday.
Currently, Gupta, who has been on Central deputation, is a joint secretary at Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Ray is a retiree.
Sources said the two bureaucrats were at the helm of affairs in the state owned OTDC when an MoU was signed with the tainted chit fund firm to start a boat ride project on Mahanadi River.
According to sources, CBI sent the notices to the General Administration (GA) department as both of them are currently not working in the OTDC. The GA department forwarded the notices to the accused officers without any delay, sources added.
While investigating the Seashore ponzi scam, the premier investigating agency found that undue favours were extended to the firm by the two officers.
Notably, Seashore Group is among the 44 companies involved in the chit fund scam in the state. The company came under the scanner of the central agency following an order of the Supreme Court to probe dubious financial transactions of the company.
The company was accused of illegally collecting deposits of about Rs 500 crore from depositors across the state; promising high returns to them. The directors of the company had created 21 shell companies and 13 multipurpose co-operative societies to launder the public deposits.
Earlier, another IAS officer, PK Hota, was arrested for extending undue favour to the company while serving as the managing director of Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (APICOL). However, he was granted bail by the High Court June 20.