CBI nabs 3 absconding Paazee directors

COIMBATORE: In a major breakthrough in the Rs 1,600-crore Paazee scam — the biggest ever economic offence originating from western Tamil Nadu — CBI sleuths on Thursday arrested the company’s three absconding directors from Meghalaya and Assam.The development brings some hope to over 48,000 depositors spread across the country, who, lured by the prospects of higher returns in the short term, had invested in the Tirupur-based Paazee group of companies.The three directors — K Kathiravan (who once worked with a leading Tamil daily in Tirupur), son K Mohanraj and Chennai-based Kamalavalli — were on the run ever since they managed to obtain an anticipatory bail from the HC in September 2009 after undertaking to repay the depositors.The Paazee group had collected huge sums from depositors, promising to invest the money in forex trade and deliver quick, higher returns. But, it soon came to light that the company was floated for fraudulent activity. Before its directors could be arrested though, they obtained bail and escaped.The CBI, which took up the case on June 15, followed up on vital leads to trace the accused. While Mohanraj was arrested from a hotel in Guwahati, Kathiravan and Kamalavalli were picked up from a resort in Cherapunji in Meghalaya. All three were brought to Coimbatore on Friday. They will be in CBI’s custody for seven days.