ED attaches assets worth Rs 43.52 cr in fraud case linking Ushdev Int'l

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable and immovable properties in the form of land and buildings and amounts lying in bank accounts in the form of fixed deposits amounting to Rs 43.52 crore in the case of Rs 1438.45 crore bank fraud by Ushdev International Limited (UIL) and others, the agency said on Thursday.

The ED's Mumbai Zonal office attached these properties on September 10 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in the bank fraud case.

The ED investigation revealed that the funds that were granted as loans by multiple banks to UIL were diverted to different entities in the guise of advances and unsecured loans.

"After layering through multiple bank accounts, the said funds were ultimately transferred to India-based companies wherein the overseas subsidiaries of UIL are major shareholders," the agency said later.

"These subsidiaries were controlled and managed by directors and major shareholders of UIL. Further, UIL was granted credit facilities (fund-based and non-fund-based) from multiple banks, and out of the said funds granted by the banks, the majority of the funds were siphoned off by UIL to many overseas entities that were incorporated by its directors, promoters or shareholders," the federal agency said.

During the course of the investigation, ED further said that assets worth Rs 43.52 crore of directors and shareholders of UIL and their group of companies lying in India were identified, which are provisionally attached under Section 5 of PMLA, 2002.

Earlier, during the month of February 2023, searches under PMLA were conducted at the premises of UIL and other related entities and persons, added the agency.