Bank of Baroda scam: assets worth ₹5.11cr attached

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties worth ₹5.11 crore of Shanti Kumar Chordia, Umrao Mal Chordia and Nayantara Chordia, promoters of three entities –Vipul Gems Private Limited, M/s Vipul Gems and M/s KV Exports – involved in the Bank of Baroda fraud case.

An investigation conducted by ED revealed that the three entities, engaged in export of precious stones, had cheated the bank and fraudulently prevented the bank from recovering the loan amounts.

“Investigation revealed that the borrowers had systematically diverted and misappropriated the funds for settling their personal dues and the funds were not utilised the funds for the purpose for which they were borrowed,” read a statement by the ED.

The attached assets include four immovable properties valued at ₹3.8 crore, including three residential-cum-commercial houses in Jaipur; a flat located in an upscale locality in Mumbai, and a fixed deposit of ₹1.31 crore in State Bank of India (SBI), Jaipur, ED said in the statement.

“The bank suffered a loss of about ₹30 crore towards advance given to the above borrowers plus interest and other charges,” the statement added.

It was revealed that the firms submitted forged and fabricated export orders to avail credit facilities. The amounts released were not used for business purposes, but were diverted.

The ED conducted a money-laundering probe on the basis of a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mumbai.