New Delhi, July 11: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken significant action in the high-profile LUCC Chit Fund scam, filing a chargesheet against 18 individuals and one organization in a special court in Dehradun.
On July 10, the chargesheet was submitted to the special court under the BUDS Act. Among the accused are Sameer Agarwal, Shadab Hussain, Uttam Kumar Singh Rajput, Saniya Agarwal, Maya Singh Rajput, Jitendra Singh Niranjan, Dinesh Singh, Girish Chand Singh Bisht, Urmila Bisht, Jagmohan Bisht, Mamta Bhandari, Tarun Kumar Maurya, Gaurav alias Gaurav Rohilla, Sushil Kumar Gokhru, Kishanlal Udaylal Jain, Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, Rajendra Singh Bisht, and the LUCC Society itself.
According to the CBI, the accused face charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Indian Evidence Act (BNS), the Uttarakhand Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act.
The case was handed over to the CBI following an order from the Nainital bench of the Uttarakhand High Court in 2025, which directed the central agency to investigate all FIRs related to the LUCC scam across the state. Subsequently, the CBI registered the case on November 26, 2025, taking over investigations into 18 cases filed at various police stations in Uttarakhand.
The investigation revealed that LUCC was registered as a multi-state cooperative society in 2012. In 2016, Sameer Agarwal took control of the society, allegedly operating unauthorized deposit schemes through over 50 branches in Uttarakhand. The agency claims that the society had no legitimate profitable business and paid old investors with funds raised from new investors, characterizing it as a Ponzi scheme.
The investigation found that over 100,000 investors were lured with promises of high returns, leading to approximately ₹800 crore being deposited. While some investors received partial payments, the total alleged fraud is estimated to exceed ₹400 crore.
The CBI asserts that Sameer Agarwal was the mastermind behind this network. He, along with his associates Kishanlal Udaylal Jain and Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, opened bank accounts for 10 shell companies in Mumbai, misappropriating investor funds by transferring them across various accounts. The investigation also revealed that Sameer Agarwal and his wife, Saniya Agarwal, have fled abroad. The CBI has issued necessary notices and circulars for their return.
To further the investigation, the agency has formed a special team and identified 39 properties linked to the accused across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Temporary attachment orders for 29 of these properties have already been issued by the competent authority, with action on the remaining properties ongoing.
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