ED attaches assets worth Rs 54 cr in 2014 Rose Valley money laundering case

The total value of assets attached in the 2014 money laundering case linked with the Rose Valley Group has risen to more than Rs 1,171 crore with the Enforcement Directorate Friday saying it has seized properties worth Rs 54 crore in the case.

The attached properties comprise insurance policies in the name of Rose Valley Group chairman Gautam Kundu and his wife, buildings and plots of land in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, which were found to have been acquired by the companies of the group from the funds collected from the gullible investors, the probe agency said.

Gautam Kundu, who was arrested by the ED in March 2015, continues to be in judicial custody.

"The Rose Valley Group collected funds from the common gullible public by floating fake and fictitious schemes and defaulted on the re-payments," the agency said.

The total value of assets attached in this case to date is Rs 1,171.71 crore, including fresh properties worth Rs 54 crore seized provisionally under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said.

The ED has filed two charge sheets in this case and has secured the conviction of Arun Mukherjee, a debenture trustee who was responsible for the acts and affairs of the company, as a trial court sentenced him to 7 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh under various sections of the PMLA.