Latest news with #Savio
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival 2025 to be held from August 14-17
The skies over Thiruvidanthai Beach will display a dazzling splash of colours as the fourth edition of the Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival would be held from August 14 to 17. Set against the backdrop of the sparkling ECR shoreline, the four-day celebration will welcome kite flyers from across the globe. Adding to the excitement, this year's highlight will be a unique kite inspired by the Tamil alphabets. The event is being organised by Global Media Box, in association with Tamil Nadu Tourism. 'This year, visitors will be treated to a one-of-a-kind Tamil Alphabet kite,' said Benedict Savio, Founder of the Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival, and Event Director at Global Media Box. 'Another major attraction will be Vietnam's Traditional Flute Kite, which produces a melodious flute sound as it soars into the sky,' he added. 'Kite teams from France, Switzerland, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India will showcase their skills and creativity,' Mr. Savio added. He also explained that these kites are specially designed and crafted after lot of research. 'Each of them are priced between Rs.1 lakh to Rs.3 lakh and some kites are even more expensive,' he said. The kite festival will be open to visitors from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival aims to evolve into a global extravaganza, with plans to host the World Kite Show Championship in the coming years, bringing together participants from over 40 countries.
Chicago Tribune
28-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Independent audit of Aurora's 2024 finances finds no significant issues
An independent audit has found no significant issues with Aurora's financial reporting of 2024. The 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, which contains the independent audit report, was presented to the Aurora City Council's Finance Committee last week. At the meeting, a representative from the city's independent auditors said the 2024 financial statements are 'fairly presented in all material respects' and in line with generally-accepted accounting principals. Plus, the auditors did not note any 'material weaknesses' or 'significant deficiencies' in the city's internal control of financial statements, according to the presentation by Jim Savio, a principal at Sikich, the city's independent auditor. If weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control had been found, it would have meant that the design or operation of the city's processes did not allow staff to prevent or detect and correct errors in financial reports on a timely basis, the written auditor's report included with the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report said. Tests were also done to check if the city was complying with certain laws, grant agreements, contracts and regulations, and those tests did not find any issues, according to the report. Savio said at the Finance Committee meeting last week that it was a 'pretty routine year' with no disagreements between auditors and management or any delays in the auditing process. Financial statements show the city spent around what it budgeted or less during 2024, which is a legal requirement, he said. According to the city-written portion of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Aurora's 'net position' increased by roughly 14% from $237.8 million to $271.8 million during 2024. That number is a useful indicator of whether the city's financial position is getting better or worse, city management said in the report. Overall, the city in 2024 took in $393.7 million while spending $359.6 million, a difference of $34.1 million, according to the city management's analysis section of the report. Notably, these numbers and others from this section of the report do not include all of the city's funds, since some are not able to support their own programs, such as the pension funds for police and firefighters. Aurora gets revenue from diverse sources, management wrote in the report, but the main source of funding in 2024 was property taxes. The city took in about $102.2 million through this tax last year, a decrease of about 1.8% since 2023. The city also got around $60.9 million through two sales taxes: a portion of the retailer's occupation tax shared by the state and the city's own home-rule sales tax. The retailer's occupation tax revenue went up by 3.8% over 2023, but the home-rule sales tax revenue went down by 0.9%. Like overall revenue, which was up 5.8% over 2023, the city's portion of the state income tax was also on the rise. In 2024, the city got $30.7 million from the tax, an increase of 6.6% over 2023. Aurora spent around 4.6% more in 2024 than it did in 2023, and most of that money was spent on salaries and benefits. The report also shows that the city's general fund, its main operating account, had around $42.1 million at the end of 2024, an increase of $13.1 million over the end of 2023 and above the required $24.4 million minimum. Aurora's code requires it holds a certain amount of money in that account because property taxes are collected only at certain times of the year but the money is spent year-round. The city had $890.5 million in long-term debt at the end of 2024, although much of it was wrapped up in pension liabilities, which totaled $487.9 million. The city had around $205.2 million in general obligation bonds at that time, which are generally paid through the property tax levy, but for the last several years the city has used other revenue sources to lower the impact to property owners, according to the report. The Aurora City Council has approved over $100 million in additional debt through general obligation bonds this year and late last year through the sale of bonds to finance construction projects from new fire stations to renovations at RiverEdge Park. At a recent community town hall, Aurora Mayor John Laesch said the city's debt has now reached $327 million. With the increased debt payment and other reasons, Aurora is facing a significant gap between revenues and expenses in 2026, he said. The 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report was unanimously accepted by the Finance Committee at its July 24 meeting. It is now set to go before the City Council Committee of the Whole next month, then it will head to the City Council for final approval. After final approval, the 324-page document will be posted on Aurora's website, according to a city spokesperson.
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Kerala chit fund couple accused of swindling Rs 40 crore in Bengaluru suspected to have fled to Kenya
A couple from Kerala accused of cheating 368 investors of nearly Rs 40 crore through a chit fund and finance business in East Bengaluru are suspected to have fled to Kenya on July 3, two days before they were booked on a police complaint filed by a senior citizen who had lost Rs 70 lakh in the alleged chit fund scam. Tomy A Varghese, 57, and his wife Shini Tomy, 52, fled from India after selling their apartment at Krishnarajapuram in East Bengaluru and their cars in a pre-planned effort to dupe the hundreds of investors in the A&A Chit Funds and Finance firm they had been operating in East Bengaluru since 2005, police sources said. 'It is pre-planned cheating. They have sold everything they owned in Bengaluru and fled. They are suspected to be in a country in Africa,' a police source said. Dozens of investors have approached the Ramamurthy Nagar police station in East Bengaluru with complaints of being defrauded by the A&A Chit Funds company operated by the Tomys. The police registered an FIR on July 5 on the basis of a complaint by P T Savio, 64, a Ramamurthy Nagar resident and an investor in the chit fund firm who has alleged that he has been defrauded of Rs 70 lakh by the couple. Police investigations have found that 368 investors in A&A Chit Funds have been cheated of Rs 39.66 crore. According to the police, there are over 750 investors in the firm and the total loss could touch Rs 100 crore if more victims come forward to file complaints. 'During the preliminary investigation, it has been found that about 750-800 people have made chit fund and finance investments in this company. Every day people gather near the police station to file complaints against A&A Chit Fund and Finance company. The number of people who have been cheated by the company is likely to increase further and the amount cheated may cross hundreds of crores of rupees,' a police source said. 'They have sold the house they were living in and fled without anyone knowing, defrauding them of hundreds of crores of rupees,' the police source said. A search of the house that the couple sold recently is being conducted, the police added. 'The accused have been running A&A Chit Fund and Finance company for about 20 years by promising interest rates ranging from 6 to 14 per cent,' the police source said. The couple are alleged to have cleaned out the bank accounts in which they received funds from investors. 'The Bangalore City Police has taken the said case seriously and all possible steps are being taken to find the accused,' D Devaraj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said. The couple hail from the Mampuzhakary region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. According to the police complaint filed by Savio, the Tomys had gathered hundreds of small and large investors in the firm with the promise of high returns. The funds deposited by the investors were being collected in the bank accounts of the firm and the private accounts of the couple, according to Savio's complaint. 'They have collected Rs 70 lakh from me and my family and several crores from others. When we visited the office of the company, we found it closed and the couple were missing. Their phones were also switched off,' states Savio's complaint. The police case was registered under section 4 of the Chit Funds Act 1982, under section 21 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance 2019, and under sections 318 and 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Kerala chit fund couple accused cheating depositors of Rs 50 crore in Bengaluru and Mangaluru
A couple from Kerala have been accused of cheating hundreds of depositors of over Rs 50 crore through a chit fund and finance business they operated in Bengaluru and Mangaluru, where people from Kerala were the majority of depositors. Over the last two days, dozens of investors have approached the Ramamurthy Nagar police station in east Bengaluru with complaints against A&A Chit Funds, operated by A V Tomy and Shini Tomy. The investors approached the police after finding the chit fund firm's Ramamurthy Nagar office locked and the couple inaccessible on their mobile phones. In one of the cases, the police registered an FIR on July 5 on the basis of a complaint lodged by P T Savio, 64, a Ramamurthy Nagar resident and an investor in the chit fund firm. He alleges that he was defrauded out of Rs 70 lakh by the couple. According to Savio's complaint, the Tomy couple had run the chit fund and finance business in Bengaluru since 2005, attracting hundreds of small and large investors with the promise of high returns. The funds deposited by the investors were allegedly being collected in the bank accounts of the firm and the private accounts of the couple. 'They have collected Rs 70 lakh from me and my family and several crores from others. When we visited the office of the company, we found it closed and the couple were missing. Their phones were also switched off,' reads Savio's police complaint. The Ramamurthy Nagar police have registered a case under section 4 of the Chit Funds Act 1982, section 21 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance 2019, and under sections 318 and 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and criminal breach of trust.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- The Hindu
FIR against couple for cheating chit fund investors
The Ramamurthy Nagar police on Saturday booked a couple, who were running a chit fund, for allegedly cheating hundreds of their customers. The accused have been identified as Tomy A.V. and Shiny Tomy, owner of the A&A Chit Fund and Finance. The police registered the FIR on July 5, following a complaint by one of the victims, Savio P.T. Savio, 64, who alleged that he and his family lost around ₹70 lakh. 'When I checked on Saturday, the chit fund office was closed, and the couple stopped responding to my calls, and their mobile phones were switched off,' Mr. Savio said in his complaint. The couple had been operating chit fund since 2005, and hundreds of customers invested crores of rupees on the promise that they would get 25% returns against their investment after a certain period of time. The case was registered under various provisions of the Chit Funds Act, 1982; the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019; and the section 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A police officer said the couple appeared to be absconding, and efforts were on to track them down.
