ED Attaches Rs 18 Crore Assets of Gujarat Firm in Bank Fraud Case

New Delhi: Nine wind turbine generators and land, belonging to a Gujarat-based company, worth over Rs 18 crore have been attached by the ED in connection with its probe in an alleged bank fraud case, the agency said on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate case pertains to a Surat-based company Nakoda Ltd, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Babulal Gumanmal Jain, his son and joint MD Devender Babulal Jain and others.

The company, the agency said in a statement, "had availed fund-based and non-fund based financial assistance from a consortium of 13 banks led by Canara Bank and later on defaulted in repayment of loans to the tune of Rs 2,107 crore."

Probe found that the Jains "conspired" with a trader Puneet Rungta and Chartered Accountant Jagdish Somani to carry out "fake" sale and purchases of fancy fabrics with the companies floated by the latter two, it alleged.

"On the strength of fake purchase invoices, Nakoda Ltd opened 1,212 Letters of credit (LCs) with banks amounting to Rs 4,207 crore. Investigation also revealed that out of the 1,212 LCs, 202 worth Rs 827.98 crore devolved due to non-payment by the company," the ED charged.

"These fraudulently obtained LC based funds were laundered by Nakoda Ltd through circular transactions with various firms and then utilised for re-payment of various loans including term loans, interest, banking charges and as working capital for meeting day-to-day expenses towards running its plant and factory."

"These are not the purposes for which the loans were sanctioned," the ED said.

A total of nine wind turbine generators and land of the accused company located at Kulasekarapatti village in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said.

The total value of these assets is Rs 18.08 crore, it added. ED initiated probe in the case on the basis of a CBI FIR.

The total attachment in the case now stands at Rs 393.79 crore as assets worth Rs 375.71 crore have been attached by the ED in the past. Further probe is underway, it said.