Odisha Extends Deadline for Chit Fund Scam Refunds to January 31, 2026
The Odisha Government has extended the deadline for small depositors affected by the chit fund scam to claim refunds until January 31, 2026.
This move provides much-needed relief to thousands of victims who lost their savings in fraudulent schemes between 2013 and 2018.
Under the initiative, investors with deposits up to Rs 10,000 in most schemes and up to Rs 8,000 in the Golden Land Developers Group are eligible for refunds.
Applicants must submit original receipts along with valid ID proof, and can track their application status via the official OPID portal.
The state has created a Rs 300-crore corpus fund to support small investors. By September 2025, authorities had refunded Rs 49.67 crore, including Rs 46 crore to 96,801 depositors, with additional funds raised from auctioning assets of fraudulent companies.
The chit fund scams, involving over 174 companies such as Rose Valley, Artha Tatwa, Golden Land, and Hi-Tech Estates, defrauded nearly 20–30 lakh investors, many from low-income families.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal reiterated the government’s commitment to phased refunds, noting that in July 2025, plans were announced to compensate 5 lakh more depositors, following refunds worth Rs 47 crore to 1.26 lakh investors the previous year.
Officials emphasised that the extended deadline ensures genuine victims who missed earlier opportunities due to a lack of awareness or documentation can still apply.
Refunds remain decentralised at the district level for faster processing, with funds sourced from seized assets and the state corpus.
This extension underscores the government’s continued focus on delivering justice to small depositors hit hardest by Ponzi schemes.
