ED attaches Kanishk Gold’s Rs 143 crore fixed deposit

ED had begun the probe last month following complaint that Chennai-based Kanishk Gold was involved in an alleged loan fraud of Rs 824.15 crore after availing the funds from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India. 

During the investigation, it was noticed that the firm paid around Rs300 crore to a jeweller’s account, but there was no evidence of receipt of gold for the payment. 

The account to which money was credited had come under the ED scanner earlier, and the probe revealed that it was used for money laundering earlier, too. 

Hence, on reasonable belief that the account is involved in money laundering, the fixed deposit valued at Rs. 143.58 crore available in the bank account have been attached provisionally under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency said on Thursday.

Earlier this week,EDhad frozen properties worth Rs48 crore belonging to the jewellery firm. It may be recalled that ED had registered case against promoter-director Bhoopesh Kumar Jain and his wife Neeta Jain, along with chartered accountants Tejraj Achha, Ajay Kumar Jain and Sumit Kedia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act soon after CBI’s Bank Fraud and Security Cell’s registered a case against the well-known chain of jewellery shops.