Kolkata, Sep 3 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted search operations at multiple locations in Kolkata, as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to an alleged Rs 290 crore bank-loan fraud by a private company.
Officials of the central investigation agency said that the private company had availed loans from banks to set up a 66 MW power plant in Jharkhand, but the loans were allegedly “siphoned off” to other group entities and for personal use.
According to the ED, the company approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and only Rs 7 crore could be recovered in liquidation, resulting in losses for the creditors.
The search operation started early on Thursday, covering the 11 premises of suspects linked to the case, in close coordination with the central security forces and the state police, said the agency.
In the search action, officials said that the premises of the group’s promoters, Prashant and Vijay Bothra, along with other directors and auditors, including office premises, are being covered.
The officials said the searches are aimed at gathering more evidence linked to the case and to trace the money trail in the money-laundering case which is being probed by the central investigation agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act, 2002.
It may be noted that on Wednesday, the ED officials conducted a surprise search at a multi-storey residence in central Kolkata’s Shakespeare Sarani in connection with a corruption case worth crores of rupees in a toll plaza. Simultaneous raids were conducted in seven other states as well.
ED sources said the agency was conducting raids at 14 locations in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, based on a complaint filed in Lucknow. According to ED sources, allegations suggest corruption worth crores of rupees took place at national highway toll plazas.
The investigation revealed that money was collected after issuing fake receipts and was also strategically removed from the toll booths. The sources said that government ledgers at the tolls contained no record of such payments received.
–IANS
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