Bank loan fraud: ED attaches assets of Trichy firm promoters

PTI, Feb 3, 2022, 5:11 PM IST

 New Delhi:  The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached assets worth Rs 9.08 crore of the promoters and family members of a Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) based company as part of a money laundering probe against it linked to an alleged bank loan fraud.

A provisional order for attachment has been issued against the company– Cethar Ltd– under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The federal probe agency had attached and seized Rs 5.63 crore worth assets of the accused as part of two similar orders issued last year.

”Directors of Cethar Ltd., Subburaj and his brother N K Pothiraaj knowingly, with a criminal intent, siphoned off the loan amount sanctioned by the consortium of banks led by Indian Bank. They have siphoned off the loan amount and acquired personal properties, jewellery and handed them over to their family members,” the ED said in a statement.

The proceeds of crime in this case have been quantified at Rs 895.45 crore and the accused company is under liquidation, it said.

The agency filed a criminal case under the PMLA after studying an October, 2018 FIR filed by the CBI against the company and its promoters. The aspects of ”forgery” have also been confirmed by forensic reports, the ED said.