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PCL PF scam: Former trust secy’s son, his broker friend arrested
LUCKNOW After grilling them for over 48 hours, the UP Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday arrested former secretary of UPPCL employees trust Praveen
LUCKNOW After grilling them for over 48 hours, the UP Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday arrested former secretary of UPPCL employees trust Praveen Kumar Gupta’s son Abihanv Gupta and his friend Ashish Chowdhary for their alleged role in procuring huge amount of commission from fake brokerage firms hired to invest the employees’ provident fund in the Mumbai-based Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).
As many as five people, including PK Gupta, former managing director of UPPCL AP Mishra and former finance director Sudhanshu Dwivedi, have been arrested so far in the alleged multi-core PF investment scam. Gupta and Dwivedi were arrested on November 2 while Mishra was arrested on November 4 in this connection.
A senior EOW official said investigations revealed over ₹65 crore was paid as commission amount to fake 14 brokerage firms hired to invest ₹4,122.5 crore of UPPCL employees’ provident fund in multiple short-term fixed deposits with the DHFL since March 2017. He said this amount was transferred to 14 different bank accounts of 14 brokerage firms, nine of which with fake addresses were floated only for the UPPCL employees PF fund investment.
He said Abhinav Gupta played a major role in providing commission to the brokerage firms. He said accused Ashish Chowdhary is his friend and one brokerage firm Infoline was floated on his name with a fake address of Noida. He said Chowdhary’s firm received the commission amount of around ₹11.50 core in his bank account. Chowdhary revealed that he got a cut of ₹60 lakh only while he transferred the remaining amount to other bank accounts on behest of Abhinav Gupta, the official said.
The official said investigation so far had confirmed that nine out of 14 brokerage firms were floated on fake addresses and promoters of these firms had links with some UPPCL officials. He said the entire money transaction came to light when DHFL regional head of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday shared details of all 14 bank accounts in which the brokerage commission amount was transferred.
Notably, a total of ₹ 4,122.5 crore of employees’ provident firm was invested in DHFL in multiple short-term fixed deposits since March 2017. Till September, ₹ 1,854.3 crore had been recovered after the FDs matured. However, ₹2,268 crore remains with the private firm that came under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate in October earlier this year over its alleged ties to Iqbal Mirchi, a Dawood Ibrahim’s aide.
