Bank fraud case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 2.42 crore

The ED has attached Rs 2.42 crore worth of assets, including agricultural land and residential flats, of a person and his relatives for allegedly taking housing and vehicle loans to the tune of Rs 25.50 crore from various banks by submitting fake documents.

The probe against Ganne Srinivasa Rao and others was initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of a CBI charge sheet in a bank fraud case involving the accused.

The attached properties include agricultural lands and residential flats located in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

During investigation, it was revealed that Rao, from 2010 to 2013, fraudulently availed housing and vehicle loans to the tune of Rs 25.50 crore from various banks in his name and in the names of his relatives and employees by submitting fake/forged documents, the ED said.

For siphoning off the loan, Rao opened bank accounts in the name of shell entities. He further floated fictitious entities in the names of his relatives and employees to avoid early detection by the banks and to layer the proceeds of crime and conceal them for personal benefit, it said.

The loans availed by Rao and his relatives/employees slipped into non-performing asset with the total outstanding amount presently due to all the banks pegged at Rs 19.83 crore, it said.

So far 13 immovable properties purchased at a value of Rs 2.43 crore, which were derived from the proceeds of crime in the names of Rao, his mother Ganne Mani Kumari and relative Nandigam Naveen Kumar, have been attached under the PMLA, the ED said.

The present market value of these properties is estimated to be 3-4 times the purchase price. Earlier there was a seizure of two cars in June 2019 in the case, it added.