Kingpin floats another firm, two aides arrested

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 22

A special investigation team (SIT) probing the multi-crore Crown Chit Fund scam has arrested a member of the advisory board of the banned company and his son. It has recovered a list of 53 persons who had made a fresh investment of Rs 13 crore in a new company of the scam kingpin – Zuflo Coin.

While the police are after the company directors who have duped thousands of an estimated Rs 10,000 crore, the accused and their agents continue to collect money from investors for Zuflo Coin, which operates through digital currency, Bitcoin.

Zuflo Coin is the eighth company launched by the accused — CEO Mohd Jameel and managaing director Jagjit Singh of the Crown group. Though the company is declared illegal and the police have arrested a number of persons, including a Punjabi film producer, people continue to invest in the new firms.

AIG Hardyal Singh Mann and SHO Kulwant Singh said they had arrested Om Parkash Verma, a close aide of Jagjit Singh. Verma’s son Vijay Verma has also been arrested. Both were nabbed from Ropar.

Mann said despite police action and media reports, people were still playing into the hands of the fraudsters who had already shut seven companies after duping people.

He said two of the 53 investors had invested a whooping Rs 4.52 crore and Rs 1.50 crore, respectively. Jai Kumar, general secretary of the Crown Chit Fund Sangharsh Committee, said Verma was in constant touch with the top accused and was instrumental in getting fresh investments.

The sangharsh committee has sought police security for its members. “We are receiving constant threats from the accused. Our life is in danger as we are fighting powerful people,” said Jai Kumar.