Bhubaneswar, July 3 (IANS): The CBI, probing the multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha, has filed in a special court here a preliminary charge sheet against three employees of the chit fund firm, Zodiac Foundation, an official said on Friday.

In the 17-page document, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally charged the company's three directors -- Dandapani Sethi, Gagan Bihari Behera and Subash Chandra Mahanta -- with duping hundreds of gullible depositors in Odisha.

The investigating agency has slapped charges under Sections 120 (B), 420, 409, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 3,4 and 6 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, against Zodiac Foundation and its directors and other accused in the charge sheet, CBI sources said.

While the CBI arrested Dandapani Sethi from Phulbani in May, Behera and Mahanta were arrested in Rairangpur town following a complaint by those cheated by the chit fund firm.

Zodiac Foundation was basically operating in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and collected small deposits from the gullible investors, promising them high returns on their deposits.

The company is among 44 chit fund companies operating in Odisha, against which the CBI is investigating following the Supreme Court's direction.