ED attaches properties of Saritha Steels' former chairman Rao

Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth over Rs 3.31 crore pertaining to G Eswara Rao, the then chairman and managing director of M/s Saritha Steels and Industries Ltd, and others under Prevention of Money Laundering Act for allegedly causing loss of over Rs 8 crore to State Bank of India.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet on December 31, 2007 against M/s Saritha Steels and Industries Ltd, Eswara Rao and others, charging them with gross misuse of the letters of credit facility sanctioned by SBI through false and fabricated documents, without any actual purchase or movement of goods, thereby causing wrongful loss to the public financial institution (the SBI) to the tune of Rs 8.81 crore.

The investigation by the ED Hyderabad Zonal Office under the PMLA revealed that M/s Saritha Steels and Industries Ltd and Eswara Rao gained wrongfully to the tune of Rs 8.81 crore. Investigations further revealed that M/s Saritha Steels and Industries Ltd, as of now is a company, without any operations or assets, a statement from ED said.
According to ED, Rao, CMD of the company had sold/made purported transfer of the assets of the company to create an impression that the company is left with no properties and in turn pledged the same with the Banks.
Accordingly, ED had identified properties equivalent to the value of the proceeds of crime.

Earlier, in March 2014, immovable properties valued at Rs 5.499 crore were provisionally attached and the same was confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority.
On further investigations, properties equivalent to the remaining proceeds of the crime of Rs 3.31 crore were identified and accordingly immovable properties (including lands and flats) of document value of Rs 3.31 crore were attached, the ED statement said.