New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable asset amounting to Rs. 19.22 crores of M/s. Era Infra Engineering Limited (EIEL) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a bank fraud case. The attached asset is in the form of balance lying in a bank account of EIEL maintained with Axis Bank.
ED initiated investigations under PMLA on the basis of FIR RC No. RCBD 1/2018/E/0007 dated 12.04.2018 of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi under section 120 B read with 420, 467, 468 & 471 of IPC, 1860 and under section 13(2) read with 13 (1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act against M/s. Era Infra Engineering Limited (EIEL), Sh. Hem Singh Bharana, CMD, other unknown public servants of the Bank/unknown private persons for the offence of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery & use of forged documents and criminal misconduct carried out by M/s. Era Infra Engineering Limited (EIEL) and other accused person(s) in the matter of sanction, disbursement & utilization of two term loans of Rs. 650 Crores.
Investigations under PMLA revealed that the sanctioned loan amounts were disbursed and utilized in a manner defying the sanctioned purpose. Out of Rs. 450 Crore disbursed by UCO Bank, an amount of Rs. 211 Crores. & Rs. 25 Crore were utilized for purposes beyond the purview of the sanctioned terms. The total amount diverted by EIEL comes to Rs. 236 Crore out of the term loan of Rs. 450 Crore. Added to it is the amount of Rs. 14.7 Crore diverted from the sanctioned amount of Rs. 200 Crore and thus the total amount diverted by EIEL comes to Rs. 250.7 Crore, which qualifies as ‘Proceeds of Crime’ in this case. Out of the total Proceeds of crime of Rs. 250.70 crores, assets valued at Rs. 5.72 crores and Rs. 33.71 croers were provisionally attached under PMLA earlier. Now including this attachment of Rs. 19.22 crores, the total value of attached assets so far is Rs. 58.65 crores.
Further investigation is under progress.
