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ED attaches assets worth ₹42cr of Kolkata-based firm in alleged bank fraud case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday attached assets worth ₹42 crore of Kolkata-based Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation for allegedly defrauding the SBI to the tune of ₹164 crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday attached assets worth ₹42 crore of Kolkata-based Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation Pvt Ltd for allegedly defrauding the State Bank of India (SBI) to the tune of ₹164 crore.
The attached assets include 11 immovable properties belonging to the firm’s directors.
The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2017 against Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation, its directors and others for allegedly defrauding the SBI by availing a loan based on forged documents and using the money for a purpose other than what it was sanctioned for.
According to the ED, the loan amount of ₹164 crore was allegedly diverted after it was rotated among multiple bank accounts, which were made to look like genuine business transactions.
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“It was further revealed that various letters of credit (LCs) were opened in the name of certain companies against the credit facilities and the same were discounted on the basis of forged invoices, challans etc. The LC proceeds were thereafter laundered and siphoned off,” the ED said in a statement.
On Monday, the ED also arrested promoter-director of Kolkata-based steel maker Ramsarup Industries, Ashish Jhunjhunwala, for allegedly defrauding a nationalised bank of ₹184.43 crore.
The investigation involved search operations that were carried out at five locations in Kolkaata, following which evidence allegedly related to “bogus” transactions was found, the ED said.
Jhunjhunwala was arrested on Thursday after the search operations and produced before a special court in Kolkata, which sent him to ED custody for seven days.
