Money chain fraud: Investors lost Rs 370 crore

VADAKARA: As per the latest revelations by the police team investigating the money chain fraud, Tycoon Empire International has siphoned off nearly Rs 370 crore from investors in the state.Investigation officer P P Sadanandan, Deputy SP, Crime Detachment Kozhikode (Rural) District said that the figure may go up if further investigations are carried out. The police team could spot accounts in the name of Tycoon Empire International in more banks, he added.The special investigation team unearthed the new details after conducting search at the HSBC office. The officials of the bank were reluctant to give information and the police team conducted search after issuing a notice to them, said the officials.According to the Deputy SP,  apart from the earlier detected accounts in Punjab National Bank, HSBC and South Indian Bank, the company that operates in the name of money circulation scheme has deposits in ICICI bank also. The company had a deposit of Rs 116 crore in ICICI, the official said.Earlier, the police had identified that the company was operating  four accounts in Punjab National Bank, five accounts in South Indian Bank and two accounts in HSBC. As per the earlier investigation the company had Rs 16 core at PNB, Rs 54 crore at South Indian Bank and Rs 12 crore at HSBC. Meantime, latest investigation revealed that the company had Rs 184 crore deposit in HSBC.The account owners have already withdrawn a major portion of the amount leaving only a few lakhs in their accounts.However, the police have demanded the authorities to freeze the accounts.