New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two key accused in connection with the Rs 800 crore LUCC chit fund scam that allegedly duped more than one lakh investors across Uttarakhand, the agency said on Tuesday.

The arrested accused have been identified as Kishan Jain and Pankaj Jain, also known as Pankaj Chaudhary.

They were apprehended in Mumbai on Monday following what the agency described as sustained and intensive investigative efforts involving scrutiny of extensive financial records, examination of bank transactions, collection of oral evidence and field investigations conducted across several states.

According to the CBI, the arrests mark a major breakthrough in the probe into the activities of Loni Urban Multi-State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC), which is accused of illegally mobilising public deposits through unregulated investment schemes and diverting the funds.

The case was registered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Dehradun on November 26, 2025, following directions issued by the Uttarakhand High Court on September 17, 2025. The agency took over the investigation of 18 FIRs earlier registered by the Uttarakhand Police.

The case was filed under various provisions of the IPC, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Uttarakhand Protection of Interests of Depositors Act (UPID Act) and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act.

Investigators alleged that LUCC collected deposits from the public through unauthorised schemes, cheated investors and misappropriated funds.

The agency estimates that deposits worth nearly Rs 800 crore were mobilised from more than one lakh investors across multiple districts of Uttarakhand.

The CBI said the two arrested accused were among the principal conspirators and played an active role in the collection, handling, diversion and misappropriation of funds raised through the schemes. Evidence gathered so far points to their involvement in the routing and utilisation of money collected from lakhs of investors.

After obtaining transit remand, the accused will be produced before the designated BUDS Act Court in Dehradun.

Earlier, the CBI had arrested five accused, including three senior cooperative promoters of LUCC, on May 12 and 13 this year. All five are currently lodged in judicial custody at Sudhowala Jail in Dehradun.

The agency has also identified several immovable properties allegedly acquired using proceeds of the crime and has requested the Uttarakhand government’s Finance Department to freeze the assets and initiate steps for compensating victims under the BUDS Act.

Further investigation is underway in the case.

–IANS

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