Mumbai: The Mumbai Zonal Office of Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a Provisional Attachment Order for immovable assets valued at approximately Rs 9.39 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of an ongoing investigation into a bank fraud case involving M/s Sharon Bio Medicine Limited (SBML) and others.
According to a statement issued by the agency on Tuesday, the provisionally attached assets include flats located in Pune, Maharashtra.
The investigation of the agency results from FIRs which had been filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Mumbai, against M/s Sharon Bio Medicine Limited and its directors under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The agency informed that the fraud allegedly resulted in a loss of approximately Rs 286 crore to multiple banks.
The investigation has disclosed that Mohan Kala, Savita Gowda, and Lalit Misra, former directors of M/s Sharon Bio Medicine Ltd, conspired to inflate stock statements, balance sheets, and other records by manipulating sales and purchases, creating fictitious transactions to secure large loans from banks, said the statement of the agency.
According to it, the fraudulent activity involved setting up shell companies and firms, wherein employees of SBML and relatives of the directors were listed as directors or shareholders. Bank funds were diverted to these entities, where they were siphoned off for personal use and the purchase of properties in the names of the directors and their affiliates, said the agency.
Previously, the ED conducted a search operation in the case on October 23, 2024, leading to the seizure and freezing of movable assets worth approximately Rs 16.42 crore, along with incriminating documents and digital devices. A provisional attachment order was issued on January 24, 2025, for assets worth approximately Rs 79.78 crore. To date, the total attachment and seizure in the case amount to approximately Rs 105.59 crore. According to the statement, the investigation is ongoing, and further legal proceedings are expected.
(IANS)
