CBI chargesheet names 18 in ₹400 crore Uttarakhand LUCC chit fund scam
Synopsis
The CBI has charged 18 people — including a Mumbai-based main accused who has since fled abroad — in a ₹400 crore cooperative society fraud that ensnared over 1 lakh depositors in Uttarakhand. With 29 properties attached and 7 accused already in judicial custody, the case now enters trial, but the absconding of Sameer Agrawal and his wife Sania Agrawal remains the central unresolved thread.
Key Takeaways
The CBI filed a chargesheet on 10 July before a Special Court in Dehradun against 18 accused in the LUCC chit fund scam .
More than 1 lakh depositors were defrauded; total deposits collected were approximately ₹800 crore , with the net fraud amount exceeding ₹400 crore .
Main accused Sameer Agrawal and wife Sania Agrawal have reportedly absconded abroad; CBI has issued notices and circulars against them.
10 shell firms were allegedly used to divert and misappropriate depositor funds.
7 accused are currently in judicial custody following CBI arrests.
Provisional attachment orders have been issued against 29 properties owned by the accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday, 10 July filed a chargesheet before a Special Court in Dehradun against 18 accused in the ₹400 crore Loni Urban Multi State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC) chit fund scam, one of Uttarakhand's largest depositor fraud cases. The chargesheet names individuals as well as the cooperative society itself as an accused entity.
Who Has Been Charged
Those named in the chargesheet include Sameer Agrawal, Shadab Husain, Uttam Kumar Singh Rajpoot, Sania Agrawal (wife of Sameer Agrawal), Maya Singh Rajpoot (wife of Uttam Kumar Singh Rajpoot), Jitendra Singh Niranjan, Dinesh Singh, Girish Chand Singh Bisht, Urmila Bisht, Jagmohan Bisht, Mamta Bhandari, Tarun Kumar Maurya, Gaurav @ Gaurav Rohilla, Sushil Gokharoo, Kishanlal Udaylal Jain, Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, Rajendra Singh Bisht, and LUCC as a corporate entity.
The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Uttarakhand Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, and the Banning of Unregulated Deposits Schemes Act, according to the CBI.
Scale of the Fraud
According to the CBI, more than 1 lakh depositors were lured into investing in various unregulated deposit schemes floated by LUCC. Total investments collected from these depositors amounted to approximately ₹800 crore. While LUCC made partial repayments to some depositors, the net fraud amount stands at more than ₹400 crore, the agency said.
This comes amid a broader national pattern of multi-state cooperative society frauds that have repeatedly victimised small depositors, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where regulatory oversight of such entities has historically been limited.
The Main Accused and Fund Diversion
The CBI identified Sameer Agrawal, a resident of Mumbai, as the principal accused who controlled the management and decision-making of LUCC. He allegedly operated the unregulated deposit schemes and collected approximately ₹800 crore from depositors across Uttarakhand.
The agency further revealed that Agrawal, in alleged conspiracy with Kishanlal Udaylal Jain and Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain, opened bank accounts of 10 shell firms to divert and misappropriate depositor funds. Agrawal and his wife Sania Agrawal have reportedly absconded abroad. The CBI has issued notices and look-out circulars against them to facilitate their return to face legal proceedings.
Arrests, Custody and Asset Attachment
Seven accused — Tarun Kumar Maurya, Mamta Bhandari, Gaurav @ Gaurav Rohilla, Rajendra Singh Bisht, Sushil Kumar Gokharoo, Kishanlal Udaylal Jain, and Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain — have already been arrested by the CBI and are currently in judicial custody.
Additionally, provisional attachment orders have been issued against 29 properties owned by the accused, the agency confirmed. With the chargesheet now filed, the case moves to the trial stage, where the Special Court will determine the pace of proceedings. The absconding of the primary accused abroad remains the most significant legal hurdle in bringing the case to conclusion.
Point of View
Making early detection difficult. The fact that the main accused has absconded abroad underscores a recurring failure: by the time enforcement agencies file chargesheets, key perpetrators are often beyond immediate reach. With over 1 lakh victims and ₹800 crore collected, the scale dwarfs many headline Ponzi cases, yet the case has attracted far less national attention than urban frauds of comparable size. The real accountability question is not just criminal conviction but depositor restitution — and on that count, 29 attached properties against ₹400 crore in losses suggests a significant recovery gap remains.
NationPress
10 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LUCC chit fund scam in Uttarakhand?
The LUCC scam refers to a large-scale depositor fraud operated through the Loni Urban Multi State Credit and Thrift Co-operative Society, which allegedly collected approximately ₹800 crore from over 1 lakh depositors in Uttarakhand through unregulated deposit schemes. The net fraud amount is estimated at more than ₹400 crore after partial repayments were made to some depositors.
Who is the main accused in the LUCC chit fund case?
The CBI has identified Sameer Agrawal, a Mumbai resident, as the principal accused who controlled LUCC's management and decision-making. He and his wife Sania Agrawal have reportedly absconded abroad, and the CBI has issued notices and circulars to facilitate their return.
How many people have been arrested in the LUCC scam so far?
Seven accused — Tarun Kumar Maurya, Mamta Bhandari, Gaurav @ Gaurav Rohilla, Rajendra Singh Bisht, Sushil Kumar Gokharoo, Kishanlal Udaylal Jain, and Pankaj Kushal Singh Jain — have been arrested by the CBI and are currently in judicial custody.
What assets have been seized in the LUCC chit fund case?
The CBI has issued provisional attachment orders against 29 properties owned by the accused. These attachments are part of the ongoing effort to recover funds defrauded from depositors.
Under which laws have the accused been charged?
The accused have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Uttarakhand Protection of Interests of Depositors Act, and the Banning of Unregulated Deposits Schemes Act.
