E-Paper
ED arrests another accused in 2015 Bank of Baroda loan fraud case
The enforcement directorate (ED) has arrested another accused, Suresh Seth of Phagwara, in the ₹24-crore Bank of Baroda loan fraud case registered in 2015 in Chandigarh
The enforcement directorate (ED) has arrested another accused, Suresh Seth of Phagwara, in the ₹24-crore Bank of Baroda loan fraud case registered in 2015 in Chandigarh.
He was produced before the special PMLA court in Mohali. The special PMLA judge, Karunesh Sharma remanded Suresh Seth, younger brother of prime accused Vikram Seth, to 14-day judicial custody till March 7.
The court order reads, “The accused has been produced on Tuesday in the court by Jagwinder Pal Singh, assistant director, in pursuance of non-bailable warrants of arrest and an application for sending the accused to judicial custody has been filed. He should be again produced through video conferencing on March 7.”
ED officials said the accused was among 14 people who were charge-sheeted for not appearing before the court on bailable warrants. Subsequently, non-bailable warrants were issued, and then the accused were arrested following a tip-off.
On September 23, the ED had filed a charge-sheet against 14 people, including prime accused Vikram Seth and seven members of his family, at a special PMLA court, Mohali. The ED had charged the 14 accused under money laundering charges. The ED charge-sheet says the accused invested the loan amount to purchase new properties and repay their previous loans.
On July 26, 2021, the ED had arrested Vikram from Phagwara and he is currently in judicial custody. The ED had taken over the probe after the CBI registered an FIR against Vikram and his family members under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at its zonal office in Jalandhar.
The ED said the CBI investigations revealed that Seth, in connivance with other accused and officials of the Bank of Baroda, fraudulently got sanctioned 19 loans totalling ₹24 crore and the money was routed through various accounts of associated firms. In May 2020, the ED had attached 42 immovable and seven movable properties worth ₹18.5 crore belonging to the Seth family in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The attached assets consisted of 20 residential plots, six industrial plots, one house, three tracts of agricultural land, two brick kilns and 10 commercial plots located in Phagwara and Banga of Punjab, and Una district of Himachal Pradesh. The seven movable assets attached included three luxury vehicles worth ₹33 lakh.
