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ED searches premises of NCP’s ex-treasurer, a Pawar aide
The alleged irregularities in the transactions of the three accused firms — RL Gold Private Limited, Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Private Limited and Manraj Jewellers Private Limited — with the SBI pertained to 2002 to 2014, ED sources said
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday and Friday carried out searches at the official and residential premises of three Jalgaon-based jewellery firms, their promoters–directors- guarantors, which included Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani, a former Rajya Sabha member and a one-time treasurer of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), who is perceived to be close to Sharad Pawar.
The searches were conducted as part of the agency’s money-laundering investigation related to an alleged bank fraud case that caused a total loss of ₹352 crore to the State Bank of India (SBI).
The alleged irregularities in the transactions of the three accused firms — RL Gold Private Limited, Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Private Limited and Manraj Jewellers Private Limited — with the SBI pertained to 2002 to 2014, ED sources said.
The ED’s money-laundering investigation is based upon three First Information Reports registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December 2022 in Delhi.
The ED searches in the state on Thursday and Friday included around nine locations including in Jalgaon, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Thane, the sources said. The CBI had registered its cases on receipt of complaint from the SBI’s Stressed Assets Resolution Group Commercial (III), Mumbai.
The CBI had in its three separate cases, named the three accused firms, RL Gold Private Limited, Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Private Limited and Manraj Jewellers Private Limited and their promoters- directors-guarantors including Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani and his family members including Manish Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani, Pushpadevi Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani and Neetika Manish Jain Lalwani - as accused.
The bank’s complaint to the CBI alleged that Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers had caused it a loss of ₹206.73 crore, RL Gold, ₹69.19 crore, and Manraj Jewellers, ₹76.57 crore.
The three accused firms allegedly conducted business with their partnership firm, Rajmal Lakhichand. The purchase and sale of all four companies were primarily routed through Rajmal Lakhichand, the SBI alleged in its complaint.
It was alleged that the accused firms showed payments made to Rajmal Lakhichand for purchases but that the receivables for the products sold to were shown as outstanding.
The three accused companies had allegedly sold goods worth ₹10,187 crore to the partnership firm during 2010-11 to 2017-18 and purchased goods worth ₹9,925 crore. Despite requests from forensic auditors, the financials of the company Rajmal Lakhichand were not allegedly provided by the promoters, the bank had alleged.
The bank alleged that the mortgaged assets had been sold without seeking its permission, which resulted in the loss of security against which loans were granted and that the recovery of the loans got seriously jeopardised.
The bank alleged that the accused firms availed the credit facilities from the SBI but misappropriated their proceeds by diverting them for non-sanctioned purposes. The loan accounts had turned into Non-Performing Assets (NPAs).
The bank had alleged that the borrowers and their associates had submitted false or inflated financials and stock statements of the company with an intention to cheat the bank by misappropriating public funds.
The CBI had registered its cases under Indian Penal Code Sections including those pertaining to criminal conspiracy (120-B), read with cheating (420), forgery of valuable security, will, etc (467) forgery for purpose of cheating (468) and using as genuine a forged document (471) and Prevention of Corruption Act’s section 13(2) r/w Section 13(1) (d) (criminal misconduct by public servants).
The CBI FIRs accused the firms’ promoter- directors - guarantors and other accused accused, including unknown public servants and other unknown persons, of cheating and defrauding the State Bank of India by availing credit facilities and misusing the funds. The forensic audit reports of February 2020 allegedly revealed that the accused firms and persons colluded together and committed illegal activities including forgery by manipulation and submission of fake financial statement, fabrication of fictitious transactions, diversion of funds and misappropriation of funds for purposes other than for the purpose for which the funds are released by the bank.
Who is Ishwarlal Jain?
Ishwarlal Jain is an NCP leader and is considered close to NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Coming from Jalgaon district, he is counted as one of the powerful politicians from north Maharashtra. He was a Congress legislator from 1978 to 1985 and joined the NCP after Pawar formed his own party back in 1999. He was Rajya Sabha MP between July 2010 and July 2016. The same year, his son Manish was elected MLC as an independent candidate.