Kolkata: Prasenjit Das from Ballygunge’s Swinhoe Lane and Mahadeb Gayen from Kundarali village in Baruipur exist in relative anonymity in Bengal’s collective memory. They were nothing more than unwitting pawns caught up in the web of the state’s biggest financial scandal, yet they bore the most severe consequences.Well-educated but constrained by limited opportunities, both found themselves working as agents for chit-fund companies, persuading thousands to invest their hard-earned money in pursuit of lofty returns. Their story mirrors that of countless others in Bengal, all chasing the dream of swift wealth. Honest wage-earners saving for education, marriage, or medical needs trusted their modest earnings to these companies. Then, it all fell like a deck of cards. The companies they trusted have disappeared without a trace, and desperate calls to officials go unanswered.Between 2010 and 2013, a massive Ponzi scheme wreaked havoc in West Bengal affecting an estimated two crore depositors. The scam involved various companies, including the Saradha Group and the Rose Valley Group and promised extravagant returns to investors.Despite investigations, including those by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the total amount lost by investors is still unknown, but has been estimated to be over Rs 30,000 crore for the Saradha and Rose Valley scams alone.Surendra Yadav, a taxi driver in the city, invested Rs 2.5 lakh he had set aside for his daughter’s wedding, hoping for better returns. Originally from Sitamarhi in Bihar, he relocated to Kolkata in search of a livelihood several decades ago. In all these years, he couldn’t recover a single rupee from his investment. Worrying over the loss of his entire life savings to a Ponzi scheme has left him sick and embittered. He said, “We saw the Saradha boss on TV with the chief minister. We placed our trust in them, thinking our money was in safe hands. Now, it’s all gone. Leaders who had been imprisoned are now free and giving speeches.”Chief minister Mamata Banerjee offered assurances to safeguard the interests of investors and agents. Facing the wrath of and relentless demands from depositors seeking their money back, many agents took their own lives.“Around 220 agents of these money laundering schemes died by suicide, that’s not a small number! The full extent of those who succumbed to stress-related issues remains unknown. We have limited information on how those who lost their life savings are coping,” stated Tarak Sarkar of the Investors (Amanatkari) & Agents Surakhsha Manch, an umbrella organisation safeguarding the interests of the duped investors.According to their calculations, more than 3.5 million individuals became agents for 155 deposit-collecting companies as the chit-fund business rapidly expanded in 2011-12. These companies functioned through a network of numerous subsidiaries and thousands of agents organised in a pyramid structure, incentivised by commissions ranging from 25% to 40%.“I live far away from my hometown in Howrah. I’m calling you, but this isn’t my phone. Everything special to me has gone; my wife, son, and daughter have moved to Medinipur. I am now doing a menial job in another state. I don’t know if I’ll ever get justice, but please don’t call me anymore!” expressed a former agent.Following the 2013 financial collapse, the Supreme Court ordered the CBI to take over investigations into the involved companies.Several arrests were made, including of Rajya Sabha MPs Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Basu, as well as of transport minister Madan Mitra. All three have since been released on bail. Mitra is now a sitting MLA and Ghosh is an official spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress.In 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered that the Saradha scam victims’ money be returned and mandated the sale of all of the group’s properties. Photo: Avrajyoti Mitra/Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.“The CBI investigation has been going on for the past ten years, but what is the result of that? There are allegations that the CBI and the ED have engaged in extortion, leading to a delay in an investigation that should have concluded years ago,” said Amit Mandal from Baruipur in the South 24 Parganas district. He had invested Rs 3 lakh, but is yet to receive a single paisa in return.As per an investigation by the Indian Express in 2019, approximately Rs 140 crore had been refunded to investors.“Many chit-fund operators were seen buying paintings made by the chief minister, who said the government would compensate the victims. The state government even presented cheques in front of the media. However, it’s worth noting that a significant number of those cheques bounced, and we never received that money back,” asserted Anisujjaman, a fisherman from Purba Medinipur district.In 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered that the Saradha scam victims’ money be returned and mandated the sale of all of the group’s properties within three months.As of September 23, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has deposited Rs 1.23 crore into a bank account opened by the Justice S.P. Talukdar committee for money raised by the sale of the Saradha group’s properties, BusinessWorld reported.According to information available on the Talukdar committee’s website, Rs 29 crore has been paid to investors of the Alchemist Group as of December 2021, and Rs 2.5 crore to investors of the Pailan Group as of November 2022 in terms with an order issued earlier that year. Both companies had defaulted on payments to their investors.An additional Rs 50 crore, a small fraction of the total value of the scam, is anticipated to be generated through the property sales of many of the chit fund companies involved.“We hold both the state and the Union government responsible for this. The chief minister even sat on a dharna to stop the CBI officers from questioning Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar over two Ponzi schemes. Before every vote, BJP leaders assure justice. We can only wait for the court’s verdict. We don’t have any other option but to keep patience,” said Bakul Naskar of South 24 Parganas.During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in West Bengal, Amit Shah, the Union home minister, assured the funds from the Saradha scheme would be refunded within 90 days in case the BJP was re-elected. Since then, both the Union and state governments have maintained a conspicuous silence even as the next Lok Sabha election approaches in a few months.Professor Ishita Mukhopadhyay from Calcutta University said, “The magnitude of the West Bengal chit-fund scandal places it among the most significant financial frauds globally. If there weren’t prominent and influential figures implicated, how could such extensive financial misconduct remain undetected for this extended period?”She continued: “This scandal has had devastating consequences for impoverished and disadvantaged families. While I maintain confidence in the legal system, my question remains – after over a decade, how much longer must they wait?”Every late evening, on the bustling streets near Kolkata’s Sealdah station, an elderly woman from the bordering area arrives to sell leafy greens. Known to all, from busy commuters to local vendors, she’s affectionately called “masi”. Every now and then, her voice resonates with bitter curses directed at her destiny. She had placed her life savings of Rs 16,000 in the hands of a local agent, hopeful that it would swiftly multiply. SEBI remains an enigma to her, the court’s verdict a mystery, and she abstains from affiliating with any union for she cannot trust anyone anymore.“Despite my age, I toil tirelessly throughout the day in the water, collecting vegetables from the shrubs, and later catch the night train to reach Sealdah. I stay there all night to sell my vegetables in the morning and go back to pick more.“They stole my money, but they won’t get away with it forever. How long can they enjoy feasting on the poor’s earnings? Let’s see what happens to them!”Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.