ED attaches assets of Rs 1.74-crore in PMLA case against BPSL

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached properties worth Rs 1.74 crore in connection with its money laundering probe linked to an alleged bank fraud in BPSL

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached properties worth Rs 1.74 crore in connection with its money laundering probe linked to an alleged bank fraud in the Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL).

It said the action has been taken against Mahender Kumar Khandelwal, the former resolution professional for BPSL, that is undergoing resolution at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a statement, said Khandelwal "in association and connivance with others by way of criminal activity related to schedule offences had acquired proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 1,73,63,488 by way of commission from a coal supplier of BPSL".

"The said modus operandi resulted in illegal siphoning of funds out of loans advanced to BPSL by various banks by routing the same through different bank accounts belonging to their family members/close relatives," it claimed.

These proceeds of crime, it said, were "projected as trading commission in the hands of family members/close relatives, who have denied having provided any goods or services to the said coal supplier".

The agency filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of an April, 2019, FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

It was alleged in the CBI FIR that BPSL availed various credit facilities from 33 different banks or financial institutions, and the outstanding defaulted amount as on January 30, 2018, was Rs 47,204 crore.

The Punjab National Bank (PNB), the leading bank in the consortium of lenders, had declared the account of BPSL as NPA (non performing asset) on December 31, 2015, followed by other banks or financial institutions.