‘Couldn’t believe it’: For Rose Valley investors, a faint ray of hope as refund process begins

Asim, from Pandua in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, is among 7,346 Rose Valley depositors who got part of their money back on Friday in the first phase of the long-awaited restitution process initiated by the Rose Valley Asset Disposal Committee.

The committee was constituted in 2015 by a Calcutta High Court order for the purpose of refunding investors, and was headed by Justice Dilip Kumar Seth. The first phase of the process saw 7,346 depositors receiving refunds of `10,200 each.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, 31,352 claims by depositors have been processed so far, out of a total 28.10 lakh claims.

Companies under the Rose Valley Group are estimated to have defrauded investors of over `17,000 crore — the highest amount among the several chit funds that went bust one after the other in West Bengal starting with the Saradha Group in January 2013.

In 2014, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the Rose Valley Group, its chairman Gautam Kundu, and others. Kundu was arrested in March 2015 and remains in judicial custody. The Rose Valley Group is alleged to have defrauded thousands of people by collecting funds through fake schemes and not making repayments.

“Friday, at around 3.15 pm, when the SMS came that money had been put into my account, I could not believe it. I had lost all hope. Since 2014, my family has lost all its savings to ponzi schemes. I won’t lie to you, many times I thought of killing myself,” says Asim, who deposited `20,000 in Rose Valley, which promised double the amount in five years. He also deposited `1.55 lakh and `2.5 lakh each in two other chit fund schemes called Alchemist and Aspen respectively. All this money was lost.

Like several depositors, he also worked as an agent for some chit fund companies that promise greater benefits if they can convince other people to enrol.

Now, he makes ends meet by taking tuition classes at the village.

Asim’s household includes his wife, Bandana, their two children and his father.

Bandana recounts the struggles they faced: “We lost all our savings, and on top of that, he (Asim) was an agent for one of the companies and got 24 people to make deposits. After the chit fund companies went bust, every now and then, depositors would come to threaten us and demand their money back. They thought we were responsible. It was such a humiliation. Some threatened to kill my husband.”

She says they took a big loan, but could not repay all the money that was demanded from them. “In those days, we did not even have money to properly feed the children,” says Bandana, who works as a bidi binder.

“But now, there is a faint ray of hope,” she says.

Another recipient of the SMS on Friday was Susmita Banerjee, whose husband Amit was a Rose Valley depositor and subsequently one of the main faces of the protests demanding the return of depositors’ money. The ordeal, however, took a toll on him, according to his wife, and he died last year of heart disease.

“When I got the SMS on Friday at 4.20 pm, I was very happy that ultimately the movement that Amit led became successful, and his stand that money should be returned was vindicated. On the other hand, there is also sadness that he is not alive to see this as he would have been the happiest person today,” says Susmita, standing in front of her husband’s photo hanging on the wall at their home in Hooghly’s Konnagar.

“It was a very difficult day for us when the chit fund was busted… After a few months, he and some agents started bringing affected people together and started a movement. It became his main pursuit in life and he started neglecting his own health. Gradually, he started suffering from heart disease,” she says.

Last year, Amit went to Guwahati for a depositors’ meeting after hearing that the Central government was starting a procedure to return their money. During the meeting, he fell ill and died before he could be taken to hospital.

Susmita says many who have got their money back have not disclosed the fact to others. “Depositors who were also agents fear that once again, people will rush to their house after hearing about the money. Many have taken loans, and this Rs 10,000 will not be enough to repay all those coming with demands,” she says.

One of the most successful agents for Rose Valley was 39-year-old Jalauddin Laskar, a resident of Karimpur in Nadia district. He had brought in more than 400 depositors, who invested around Rs 2.5 crore. His own family invested around Rs 30 lakh.

“When Rose Valley closed in 2014, depositors held us (the agents) responsible. Almost every day, my house was gheraoed. We used to lock up and hide in fear. We faced intimidation and utmost humiliation, but I told everybody that I never syphoned a single penny. I fought for my depositors,” says Jalauddin.

He said the movement to get the money back began in 2014, but had “scattered” by 2016. “Again in 2018, we reassembled and revived the movement. We also started our legal fight… Somehow, I joined a service as a salesman. Every month I would go to Kolkata for this legal fight and I am happy that ultimately, people could be getting at least the principle amount back. Our movement was successful,” he says.

He works as a salesman now after losing his job and a small business that he had during the years since 2014, he says.

The lawyer for the depositors, Shubhasis Chakraborty, said he has been fighting their legal battle since 2015 and expressed his happiness that they were starting to get their money back.

He explained that after the High Court set up an asset disposal committee, a website was made for depositors to make their claims. “Almost 28 lakh depositors submitted their claims on the website so far… We demanded that by selling properties and land of Rose Valley, depositors’ money can be returned. I am personally very happy that lakhs of people who fought for this have got success.”

All Bengal Chit Fund Sufferers Welfare Association president Rupam Chowdhury has demanded that SEBI allocate Rs 1,000 crore to return money to depositors. He also called on the asset disposal committee to “publish a status paper that will give the number and list of depositors, and the amount of money from Rose Valley that is in the custody of SEBI and ED”.