For the last 16 years, former Congress MP from Rajahmundry Vundavalli Arun Kumar has been a flesh in the thorn of Ch Ramoji Rao, chairman of Eenadu group of publications, for the multi-crore deposit scam of Margardarshi Financiers, the extended arm of Margadarshi Chit Funds Ltd.
He has been challenging in the court of law how Ramoji Rao had misled the investors by collecting deposits without the firm being registered as non-banking financial institution and claiming it as a chit fund company.
Vundavalli has also challenged Ramoji Rao’s claim that he had nothing to do with the Margadarshi Chit Funds, though he registered as a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF).
While the court was struck down in the high court at the time of bifurcation of the combined AP, Vundavalli moved to the Supreme Court.
On September 20 this year, the Supreme Court has issued notices to Ramoji Rao, the RBI and the Telangana government in the Margadarsi chit funds case, as the Jagan Mohan Reddy government impleaded in the case and filed a special leave petition.
Vundavalli said the Supreme Court wanted to know whether or not the deposits had been refunded to the depositors.
He said that regardless of whether deposits had been refunded or not, the moot question was whether a HUF was entitled to accept deposits.
On Monday, Vundavalli said it was his contention that according to law a HUF cannot do so. He demanded a probe by Enforcement Directorate and the CBI into the scam, as he presented documental evidence to prove his case.
Presenting the balance sheet of Margadarsi chit fund company for the year 2021, Vundavalli said that Ramoji Rao had signed as the chairman of the company.
The former MP alleged that an affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court bore the signature of Ramoji Rao as the rightful owner of the company.
He also stated that the money invested in the chit funds should not be used for any other purpose, alleging that Ramoji Rao had misused the funds.
Till August 20, 2012, Ramoji Rao had a bank balance of Rs 1,688 crore but he has not revealed where he got such a huge sum of money, Vundavalli noted.
He has also requested the state government to step in and investigate into this chit fund company as well and should not differentiate between big and small companies.
In August 2022, the state government had impleaded in the Margadarsi Financiers case by filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court.