New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached 11 immovable properties of Rs. 42.36 crore belonging to the directors of Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation, a Kolkata-based company, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA), in connection with alleged bank fraud case, ED said on Monday.
ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of a FIR lodged on March 28, 2017, and charge-sheet filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Kolkata on December 30, 2019, under the sections of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation, its directors and other persons, for defrauding the State Bank of India (SBI) to the extent of Rs. 164 crore by availing loan on the basis of alleged false documents and utilizing the loan amount for purpose other than for which it was sanctioned, ED said in a statement.
The probe under PMLA revealed that a loan amount of Rs. 164 crore was diverted after rotating amongst the bank accounts maintained by various entities and allegedly presented as genuine business transactions. It was further revealed that various Letters of Credit (LCs) were opened in the name of certain companies against the credit facilities and the same were discounted on the basis of forged invoices and challans. The LC proceeds were thereafter laundered and siphoned off, said ED.
