AGARTALA, June 12 (IANS) - The Tripura police have arrested four functionaries of two unauthorised non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that were collecting deposits from the people in violation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.
"Managing directors and branch managers of two NBFIs have so far been arrested in Agartala," Additional Superintendent of Police Bijoy Nag told IANS Saturday.
Earlier this month, the Tripura government had decided to take action against NBFCs not recognised by the RBI, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) or Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
A team led by Nag and comprising officers of the crime investigation department (CID), finance department and police conducted raids Thursday and Friday in various offices of NBFCs to check on the status of their recognition and their financial transactions.
"Such type of raids would continue across the state. We have sealed some of the offices of NBFCs," the police official said.
In recent years, unauthorised NBFCs have mushroomed in the northeastern region of India. These organisations first take deposits from the people by promising abnormally high rates of interest. After collecting the money, they close their operations and vanish from the area.
"A large number of depositors have lost their hard earned savings," Tripura Finance Minister Badal Choudhury told reporters here.
"The state government has undertaken an inquiry against the 84 NBFCs functioning in Tripura alone. The (state) government has sought advice from the RBI and the Union Finance Ministry about the state's possible steps," the minister added.
"According to RBI guidelines, no bank or NBFC can take or give interest more than 12.5 percent against any financial transaction, but some of the NBFCs are collecting and offering 20 to 40 percent interest," Choudhury said.
The Tripura government last month formed a committee headed by Chief Secretary S.K. Panda to scrutinise the credentials of the NBFCs and inquire into their functioning. The committee will submit a report to the government at the earliest.
The state government has demanded an increase in interest rate of at least two percent in the various government-run small savings schemes to desist people from depositing money in unrecognised NBFCs.
