Fraud companies are countrywide, Jaitley tells Lok Sabha

There were blade companies all over the country defrauding investors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha on Friday. These companies were there in all States. In reply to a question, Jaitley said there were 164 companies which had taken deposits from the people and closed shop. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) was looking into the matter. The CBI and other investigating agencies were looking into the matter. He admitted that there were many such companies collecting deposits from the people. Their antecedents were being looked into. The effort was to stop corporate fraud and protecting investor interest. The fact was the laws in dealing with pongi schemes were not the same all over the country. Different States had different laws.