Kolkata, March 4 (IANS): The CBI on Wednesday conducted raids at 43 locations of the Rose Valley Group across the country, including 27 in West Bengal, in connection with the multi-crore-rupee chit fund scam.

"In an ongoing investigation, searches are being conducted at 43 locations across the country including 27 in West Bengal, 7 in Tripura and 1 location each in Odisha, Assam, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu," said a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) official.

The Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing the scam, had sealed several bank accounts of the group across the country and interrogated its chairman Gautam Kundu.

The group's properties were confiscated in Odisha following a court order on February 25.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha last month, said the Saradha Group and the Rose Valley raised Rs.12,740 crore illegally.

According to Sinha, investigations revealed that the Rose Valley Group raised as much as Rs.10,281 crore from investors while Saradha firms had mobilised Rs.2,459 crore.