IMA properties worth Rs 200 cr, Rs 95L left in 105 a/cs

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has kick-started the process of attaching the properties of the scam-hit “Islamic investment” company, I Monetary Agency (IMA). It’s set to attach at least 20 properties estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore.

The ED identified the properties by checking around 105 bank accounts operated by the IMA Group in various cooperative and nationalised banks. There is just Rs 95 lakh in these accounts, sources said.

The ED started investigating the scam by filing an enforcement case information report, or ECIR, on June 14 after more than 30,000 investors filed cheating complaints with the police. The central agency also questioned the directors of the company.

The ED investigation also found that the company had acquired more than 20 immovable assets with investors’ money. The assets were bought in the name of the absconding managing director and CEO of IMA, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, and a few other directors of the company. Government-approved valuators have estimated the value of these properties at Rs 200 crore, the sources added.

During raids in early 2017 just a few months after demonetisation, income tax officials had found that the company’s bank accounts had a total of
Rs 44 crore. Following the raids, the company paid Rs 22 crore to the government under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. Out of the remaining amount, the ED discovered that Rs 11 crore was deposited in a separate bank account. The ED has issued a summons to Khan who is believed to be hiding abroad.