Uttarakhand LUCC Chit Fund Scam: CBI Files Chargesheet Against 18 Accused in Rs 800 Crore Ponzi Scheme
DEHRADUN JULY 07: In a major breakthrough against financial fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a comprehensive chargesheet against 18 accused individuals and entities involved in the multi-million rupee Loni Urban Multi State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC) chit fund scam. The chargesheet was submitted before the Special Court of the BUDS Act in Dehradun, marking a crucial step in an investigation that spans multiple states and involves the fleecing of over one lakh innocent investors.
The federal agency took over the case in late 2025 following a directive from the Uttarakhand High Court, which consolidated 18 local police FIRs across the state. According to the investigation, the LUCC was initially registered as a multi-state co-operative society in 2012. However, the operations took a predatory turn in 2016 when Mumbai resident Sameer Agrawal seized control of the management and instituted a new board. Under Agrawal’s leadership, the society illegally expanded to over 50 branches across Uttarakhand, running unauthorized deposit schemes without a genuine revenue model. The agency revealed that the operation functioned as a classic Ponzi scheme, utilizing funds from fresh depositors to pay off previous mature investments.
The scale of the fraud is unprecedented for the region, with the CBI estimating total illicit collections to the tune of Rs 800 crore. While partial repayments were made, the outstanding defrauded amount sits at over Rs 400 crore. Investigation further exposed that Agrawal, in conspiracy with associates Kishanlal Udaylal Jain and Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, established 10 shell companies in Mumbai to systematically divert and misappropriate the public’s hard-earned money through layered transactions.
As the law catches up, the mastermind Sameer Agrawal and his wife, Saniya Agrawal, have reportedly absconded abroad, prompting the CBI to issue international notices and circulars to secure their extradition. Meanwhile, the agency has cracked down on internal operations, arresting key functionaries and chest managers—including those responsible for physically moving bulk cash to bypass standard banking checks. Seven accused individuals are currently in judicial custody. To recover the stolen wealth, a specialized CBI team has identified 39 properties across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, successfully securing provisional attachment orders for 29 of them under the BUDS Act, 2019, as investigations continue.