New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has provisionally attached various immovable and movable properties worth Rs 2.14 crore of entry operators working for Shakti Bhog Foods Limited and their Chartered Accountants, in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the bank loan fraud of Rs 3,269.42 crore.
A senior ED official said that properties belonging to Devkinandan Garg, Ashok Kumar Goel, Mahesh Kumar, Devender Kumar and other entry operators and R.N. Saraf and Ramesh Goyal, Chartered Accountants of Devkinndan were seized.
The official said that the entry operators had supplied fake invoices and assisted Shakti Bhog Foods Limited in committing loan fraud with a consortium of ten banks led by the State Bank of India.
The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered by the CBI against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct resulting in bank fraud of Rs 3,269.42 crore.
Shakti Bhog Foods Limited had procured fake bills of purchase-sale from the dummy entities under the command and control of Ashok, Devkinandan, Mahesh, Devender and other entry operators without having any genuine business transactions.
The Chartered Accountants, R.N. Saraf and Ramesh Goyal were actively assisting Devkinandan, entry operator in legalising his illegal accommodation entries.
The ED learnt in the investigation that these persons also acquired proceeds of crime in the form of commission and fee.
“Shakti Bhog Foods Limited committed the offence of money laundering with their aid and assistance including generation, acquisition, layering and siphoning off its loans funds,” said the ED official.
The ED had conducted searches on various premises and arrested Kewal Krishan Kumar, CMD Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd. on July 7, 2021, Raman Bhuraria, CA on August 13, 2021, Ashok Kumar Goel and Devkinandan, entry operators on September 20, 2021.
Prosecution complaint against all these persons have been filed and the special court has also taken cognizance of the matter.
Prior to this, by way of provisional attachment orders, the ED has attached various immovable and movable properties of the accused persons having book value of over Rs 98.3 crore. With the present provisional attachment total attachment in the case stands at Rs 100.44 crore.
(IANS)
