ED attaches over Rs 315 cr worth assets against ex Maha NCP MP, biz groups

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said it has attached land, windmills, silver and diamond jewellery and bullion worth more than Rs 315 crore as part of an alleged bank fraud linked money laundering probe against a former NCP MP from Maharashtra, his family and businesses.

Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani (77), the former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is the promoter of the Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Pvt Ltd, R L Gold Pvt Ltd and Manraj Jewellers among others.

The federal agency said in a statement that a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was issued by it on Friday to attach 70 immovable assets located in Jalgaon, Mumbai, Thane, Sillod (in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra) and Kutch (Gujarat) apart from some windmills, silver and diamond jewellery, bullion and Indian currency valued at a total Rs 315.60 crore in the bank fraud case of Rajmal Lakhichand Jewelers Pvt. Ltd., R L Gold Pvt. Ltd., and Manraj Jewellers Pvt. Ltd and others.

"The attached assets include the benami properties acquired by the promoters Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani, Manish Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani and others," the ED alleged.

The PMLA case stems from three FIRs registered by the CBI alleging that these companies and its directors/promoters caused wrongful loss of more than Rs 352.49 crore to the State Bank of India.

The promoters submitted "fake" financials to avail such loans, the ED alleged.

"The promoters also engaged in round tripping of transactions to inflate the financials and booking bogus sale purchase transactions in books of accounts of the accused companies to siphon off the loan proceeds for investments in real estate properties, in collusion with the auditors of the companies," it said.

Raids were carried out by the ED in this case in August.

It had then claimed that various "discrepancies like bogus sale-purchase transactions being shown in the books of accounts with the main holding company, Rajmal Lakhichand Jalgaon partnership firm" were detected.