Victims of online trading scams have hope for recovery under UDS Act: Assam DGP
Under the UDS Act, 2019, assets of the scam accused will be liquidated & distributed among investors, but only at the end of the probe, he said.
Assam DGP GP Singh (File)
Guwahati, Oct 29: Thousands of victims duped of crores of rupees by scamsters in online trading scams may be able to recover a portion of their invested money under a provision of the Unregulated Deposit Schemes (UDS) Act, 2019.
This was informed by Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh on Monday, who added that the victims must wait until the investigations into various unregulated trading scams reach their final conclusions.
“People often ask if investors will be able to retrieve the money they invested in many fraudulent deposit schemes. I would like to inform them that there is a provision under the UDS Act according to which all assets of the accused in these scams will be liquidated and distributed among the investors, but that is the final phase of the investigation,” he told the press while addressing questions regarding the arrest of DB Stock scam mastermind Dipankar Barman.
He further stated that, during the course of their investigation, Assam Police have seized several assets from the accused in the scams. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is currently probing 41 such cases, is also taking similar actions.
“I believe that in a few months’ time, this phase of the investigation will come, but only those individuals who can prove that they have invested in these scams will have a chance of retrieving some of their money,” said DGP Singh.
Meanwhile, in response to the recent arrest of DB Stock scam kingpin Barman, the DGP stated that he would be brought back to Guwahati today. “The granting of transit remand to the accused took time; hence, we couldn’t bring him to Guwahati earlier, but he will arrive today via air,” said DGP Singh.
DGP Singh also reiterated that criminals often leave behind footprints, which ultimately leads to their arrest. “One cannot evade arrest after committing a crime for long, as every criminal leaves a footprint,” he added.
Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also assured the victims of the unregulated online trading scams that the government “will try” to retrieve some of their invested money once the accused are booked.
