Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 13 May: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested five accused persons, including an alleged kingpin, in connection with the multi-crore LUCC chit fund scam in Uttarakhand. The arrested accused have been identified as Sushil Gokhroo, Rajendra Singh Bisht, Tarun Kumar Mourya, Gaurav Rohilla and Mamta Bhandari. They have been apprehended from different locations across the country during coordinated operations conducted by the agency.
The action comes in connection with the alleged fraud linked to M/s Loni Urban Multi State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC), which is accused of duping a massive number of investors in Uttarakhand through unregulated deposit schemes. The case was transferred to the CBI last year following the orders passed by the Uttarakhand High Court which had directed the CBI to take over all FIRs related to the scam and conduct the investigation. Acting on the court’s directions, the CBI registered a case on November 26, 2025 under various provisions of the IPC, BNS, the Uttarakhand Protection of Interests of Depositors Act and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act against office-bearers of LUCC and other accused persons.
According to the CBI, investigation conducted so far has revealed an unprecedented scale of financial exploitation of the public in Uttarakhand. The agency said more than one lakh investors have been allegedly lured into investing in various unregulated deposit schemes floated by LUCC. The total amount invested by depositors is estimated to be nearly Rs 800 crore. Although partial repayments were allegedly made to some investors, the overall fraud amount is estimated to exceed Rs 400 crore.
The CBI said that investigation into the case is being carried out on a day-to-day basis and a special team has been constituted to track and trace the accused persons through technical surveillance and source-based intelligence inputs. The agency has identified Sameer Agrawal as the main accused in the case. According to investigators, Sameer Agrawal and his wife Saniya Agrawal have absconded abroad. The CBI has issued notices and opened circulars against them in an effort to secure their return and intensify further legal proceedings.
The investigation has also revealed that several immovable properties were allegedly acquired by the accused persons using proceeds of crime generated through the fraudulent schemes. Details of these properties have been shared by the CBI with the competent authority, namely the Secretary, Finance, Government of Uttarakhand, with a request to freeze the assets and initiate necessary proceedings for distribution among victims under the provisions of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019.
The arrested accused are being produced before the competent court, while further investigation in the case continues.
