Enforcement Directorate attaches Rs 10-cr assets under PMLA in bank frauds case

The Enforcement Directorate has attached six flats worth Rs 10 crore belonging to the Director of a Kolkata-based firm in connection with a money laundering probe in an alleged bank fraud case.

The agency said it issued a provisional order attaching four flats in Kolkata and two in Gurugram in the name of “Bipin Kumar Vohra, one of the Directors Ms Bengal India Global Infrastructure Limited Kolkata, in a case of money laundering”.

It said while the book value of the assets (flats) is Rs 2.73 crore, their “market value” is Rs 10 crore.

The ED had booked a case against the firm and its executives based on a CBI FIR. The FIR was filed by the CBI after it had taken cognisance of a complaint by a consortium of banks against the firm and others.

“According to CBI FIRs, the firm and others caused a loss of Rs 139.05 crore to Central Bank of India and Rs 48.2 crore to Andhra bank, a loss of Rs 74.98 crore was caused by another group company Ms SPS Steels Rolling Mills Limited and others to United Bank of India,” the ED said in a statement.

It added the “company Ms Bengal India Global Infrastructure Limited represented by its directors availed various credit facilities for trading purpose during 2012-13 and diverted the funds through various front/sister companies for other purposes violating the terms and conditions stipulated in the sanction orders thereby causing loss to the lenders.”

The attachment of assets under PMLA is aimed to deprive the accused from taking benefits of ill-gotten wealth and such an action gets confirmed after an order is passed by the Adjudicating Authority of the said Act within 180 days.