Government of India is not sitting idle as high level meetings are taking place to weed out the cases of corruption in multi state cooperative societies, said the union state agriculture minister Mohanbhai Kundariya on the sidelines of the inauguration function of the Cooperative Week in Delhi.
Some of the multi state cooperative societies have become kind of a shelter for illegitimate funds a fact underlined by the Moily Committee in its report submitted recently, said the minister.
A high-level meeting took place recently in which RBI, CBI, Nabard and economic offence wings participated to mull over how to curb the menace, Kudariya said. “We are aware of the issue”, he added.
Readers would note that in a startling expose, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has said, multi-state cooperatives under the Agriculture Ministry, operating without any financial regulatory oversight, have become a conduit for transferring huge amount of money for dubious Ponzi schemes that are ripping off the savings of people across India.
The Committee headed by Congress leader M Veerappa Moily categorically says since 2010, the number and amount of multi-state cooperatives have increased 100 times and now become some kind of a shelter for illegitimate funds.
“It seems that the present regulator for multi-state cooperatives i.e. Central Registrar falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, which does not have any financial regulatory infrastructure. As the number and amount of multi state cooperatives have increased hundred times since 2010, the Committee would suggest that the enforcement aspect with regard to financial schemes operating through multi state cooperatives be shifted to Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Report, some of the bogus companies running Ponzi schemes, which have transferred their funds and assets to multi state cooperatives include, Samruddha Jeevan Foods Ltd, Sai Prasad, Utkarsh Plotters & Multi Agro Solutions, PGF and PACL, Agri Gold Farm Estates and Saradha Chit Fund.