Bank loan fraud: ED attaches assets worth Rs 6.07 cr of West Bengal-based firm

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 6.07 crore of a West Bengal-based company, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged bank fraud case, the agency said on Friday.

It said a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued against Damodar Developers Pvt Ltd, its directors Parthasarathi Ghosh, Kallol Mukhopadhyay and Probal Mukherjee, their family members and associated companies.

Eleven bank accounts, three flats, an office space and some other immovable assets have been attached as part of the order, the ED said. The total value of the attached assets is Rs 6.07 crore.

 

The federal agency said it launched a PMLA probe against the company based on a CBI FIR and its investigation found that a loan availed from SBI was "fraudulently diverted and siphoned by the directors of the said company for their personal gain and for acquiring immovable properties".

"Damodar Developers Pvt Ltd and its directors, in connivance with others, hatched a criminal conspiracy and defrauded the State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 64.57 crore by producing forged documents and inducing bank to accept fictitious properties as collateral securities which are not in existence," the ED claimed.

The company was sanctioned a working capital limit of Rs 60 crore in the form of a cash credit loan by SBI for a distributorship business of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), it said.

"Funds availed from the bank were diverted without any underlying business and unrelated purposes by layering through several associated and related companies and also by cash withdrawals for personal purposes," the ED alleged

"Huge amount of cash has been withdrawn from the cash credit account to be used in unrelated purposes like for purchasing four fake or forged lease deeds of landed properties to be used as additional collateral with ulterior motive of availing enhanced credit facilities/limit from the bank," it said.

A substantial part of the business was done in cash only and the sale proceeds amount received in cash from retailers were not credited in the cash credit account of Damodar Developers Pvt Ltd maintained in SBI by the directors of the firm, the agency said.