Bank loan fraud: ED attaches Rs 40-cr assets of Bengaluru company

PTI, Aug 4, 2022, 12:07 PM IST

Assets worth more than Rs 40 crore have been attached in an alleged bank loan fraud linked money laundering probe against a Bengaluru-based company, the Enforcement Directorate has said.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach residential apartments, plots, agricultural lands and bank deposits of Kavveri Telecom Infrastructure Limited, the central agency said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The total value of the attached properties is Rs 40.14 crore, it said.

The money laundering case stems from a July, 2015 FIR filed against the company and its promoters by the anti-corruption branch of the CBI in Bengaluru.

The CBI FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the then DGM, Dena Bank alleging cheating done with the bank by the company and its directors in respect of loan taken by them, the ED said.

”The company and its directors took loans from the erstwhile Dena Bank to the tune of Rs 45 crore in the name of purchase of equipment. However, it was diverted through its sister concerns and conduit entities controlled by them. ”For availing the loan, the directors of the company submitted fake and fabricated tax invoices and lorry receipts etc. with the bank,” the agency alleged.

The loan amount was ”diverted” using various accounts of group entities which include conduit entities and the personal saving accounts of promoters/directors, it said.

The diverted loan amount was rotated among the bank accounts of group entities and directors and a web of transactions was created to project this money as untainted, the agency said.

”A part of this money to the tune of Rs 27.14 crore was siphoned off abroad and parked there. Also, the proceeds of crime were used to acquire movable and immovable properties in the name of directors and their family members,” it said.

The accused cheated the bank and caused loss to the bank and when the account became NPA (non performing asset), the outstanding loan amount was of Rs 40.18 crore, it said.