ED attaches assets worth Rs 17.05 cr in ACCSL fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 17.05 crore in a multi-state co-operative society, namely Arbuda Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. fraud case, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, according to an official statement.

The attached assets include a hotel at Mount Abu namely Abu Grand, farmhouses, under-construction real estate projects and residential properties in Rajasthan owned by Rakesh Kumar Agrawal of Mount Abu, read a statement from the law enforcement agency.

ED had initiated investigations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against Arbuda Credit Co-operative Society Ltd.(ACCSL) and its Managing Director Rakesh Kumar Agrawal and others on the basis of the case registered by Gujarat Police under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act.

It has been alleged that Arbuda Credit Co-operative Society Ltd. and Agrawal and others lured the gullible investors to deposit money in various schemes of the Credit Society, by promising them higher returns, the statement read.

The entities collected money from innocent people and subsequently siphoned it off through one Ashtha Real Estate and used the same for other businesses and for purchase and construction of various immovable properties, ED added.

PMLA investigation revealed that Agrawal has siphoned off the money from ACCSL and Apni Credit Society on the pretext of "forge/fake loan accounts in the said entities and used the same in other businesses."

So far, the law enforcement agency has traced 34 immovable assets totalling Rs 17.05 crore and attached them under the provisions of PMLA.

Further investigation in the case is underway.