Bank fraud: ED attaches properties of 2 firms worth Rs 278 cr under PMLA

In two different cases, Enforcement Directorate attached properties worth Rs 268.66 crore of Agnite Education Ltd and properties worth Rs 9.08 crore belonging of Cethar Ltd, Tiruchy, for money laundering.

The ED had initiated investigations against Agnite Education Ltd (formerly Teledata Informatics Ltd) and its directors K Balasubramaniam and K Padmanabhan based on two FIRs registered by CBI, Bengaluru, and another by CBI, EOB, Chennai, against Teledata Marine Solutions Ltd.

Investigations by the ED revealed that both the firms availed various credit facilities from the State Bank of India and defrauded the bank to the tune of Rs 479 crore. The two firms and their subsidiaries acquired movable properties in the form of five LPG carrier ships, an oil tanker apart from bank balances abroad by making sham investments, related party transactions to inflate balance sheets for availing bank loans and expenses for siphoning and diverting funds for promoters’ benefit.

The accused parked the funds availed through bank loans in the form of assets (bank balance, properties) in Austria, Thailand and Bangladesh, said a note from the ED. The movable assets (in the form of shares, carrier ships and bank balances) to the tune of Rs.268.66 crores have been attached by ED to prevent their sale.

Similarly, ED has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at Rs 9.08 crore of the Director to Cethar Ltd, Trichy, and family members in connection with a bank fraud case. ED had already seized movable properties of Rs.5.63 crore in July and December last year.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation based on FIR by the CBI, Banking Security and Fraud Cell, Bangalore, in 2018, against directors of Cethar Ltd, Tiruchy, under various sections of Indian Penal Code.

Investigation revealed that the directors of Cethar Ltd, Subburaj and his brother NK Pothiraaj, siphoned the loan amount sanctioned by the consortium of Banks led by Indian Bank and acquired personal properties, jewellery and gifted them to their family members.

The proceeds of Crime (POC) in the case have been quantified at Rs 895.45 crore. The company is under liquidation.