New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached 47 immovable properties worth Rs 121.81 crore and movable assets worth Rs 54.25 lakh belonging to Amar Mulchandani, Vivek Aranha, Sagar Suryawanshi, Khemchand Bhojwani and their family members in a PMLA case.
The ED initiated a PMLA investigation based on an FIR registered by Pune police against Vinay Aranha of Rosary Education Group and others for loan fraud.
The Joint Registrar (Audit) did an audit of the entire Seva Vikas Co-operative Bank and found gross fraud and misappropriation of Rs 429.6 crore across 124 NPA Loan accounts.
Based on this audit report, additional FIRs were registered against the loan beneficiaries and bank management, including its ex-Chairman Amar Mulchandani.
The RBI has cancelled the license of the bank.
“The ED is investigating the entire bank fraud in which small deposits of thousands of innocent depositors have been siphoned off by illegal loans sanctioned by the management of the bank,” said the police.
The ED said that its investigation has established that Amar Mulchandani treated public deposits in the bank like his personal money and violated all prudent banking norms.
He illegally sanctioned and provided loans to his known borrowers in an arbitrary manner. He allegedly extorted a 20 per cent commission from each sanctioned loan.
“He made his family members directors in the bank with a clear motive to have a brute majority in the Board of Directors to sanction loans as per his whims and fancies. Amar Mulchandani also sanctioned various benami bogus loans to siphon off money. Major loan defaulters Vinay Aranha, Sagar Suryawanshi and Khemchand Bhojwani, etc were found to be hand in glove with Amar Mulchandani. They acted as mutual guarantors in their loan accounts which all turned NPA. Loans were sanctioned to them illegally and with clear objective from day one to default the loan. New loans were sanctioned to repay older loans,” the ED said.
The ED said that they have traced several benami investments made by Amar Mulchandani and others.
Attached properties include Rs 121.81 crore of immovable properties located in Pune (Maharashtra) and belonging to Amar Mulchandani, Vivek Aranha, Sagar Suryawanshi, Khemchand Bhojwani and their family members and movable properties worth Rs 54.25 lakh belonging to Devi Concrete Products.
The same has been attached to prevent their alienation.
–IANS
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