E-Paper
Seven more held in multi-crore PF investment scam
LUCKNOW The state police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday arrested seven more people in connection with the multi-crore UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL)
LUCKNOW The state police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday arrested seven more people in connection with the multi-crore UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) employees’ provident fund scam.
Those arrested included a chartered account and six promoters of 14 brokerage firms hired to invest ₹4,122. 5 crore in the Mumbai-based Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), said officials.
Rajendra Pal Singh, D-G (EOW), said those arrested included the former regional manager of DHFL (Lucknow branch) Amit Prakash, chartered accountant Shyam Agarwal, Manoj Agarwal, Vikas Chawla, Sanjay Kumar, Arun Jain and Pankaj Giri alias Neeshu.
He said Amit Prakash played a crucial role in getting registered multiple brokerage firms and helped in providing brokerage amount in connivance with former staff of the employees’ trust Praveen Kumar Gupta and his son Abhinav Gupta.
As many as 12 brokerage firms were registered in the names of Shyam Agarwal, Manoj Agarwal, Vikas Chawla, Sanjay Kumar, Arun Jain and Neeshu. One firm was registered in the name of Shyam Agarwal’s wife, he added.
The D-G said investigations by EOW revealed that over ₹65 crore was paid as commission to 14 brokerage firms hired to invest ₹4,122.5 crore of UPPCL employees’ PF in multiple short-term fixed deposits with the DHFL since March 2017.
He said the amount of over ₹65 crore was transferred to 14 bank accounts of brokerage firms, 12 of which with fake addresses were floated only for the PF fund investment.
Interestingly, the promoters of these 12 brokerages firms were linked to senior UPPCL authorities involved in deciding the PF amount investment in DHFL.
Three UPPCL authorities, including former managing director AP Mishra, former finance director Sudhanshu Dwivedi and former secretary of the employees’ trust Praveen Kumar Gupta have already been arrested.
