Bank loan fraud: ED arrests MD of steel, power company in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested the promoter and managing director of a Mumbai-registered steel and power company in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank fraud.

Abhay Narendra Lodha was taken into custody on Wednesday and a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent him to ED custody till September 8, the agency said in a statement.

It said Lodha is the promoter and MD of Topworth Steels and Power Private Limited (TSPPL) and the Topworth Group.

According to the company website, its registered office is located in Mumbai while its plant is located in Chhattisgarh's Durg district and it is undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

Probe found that 'in addition to causing a wrongful loss of Rs 63.10 crore to the IDBI Bank by committing fraud in the credit facility of the Letter of Credit and Trade Credit Bank Guarantee (LC/TCBG) during 2014-15 to 2016-17, the Topworth Group of companies controlled by Abhay Narendra Lodha also generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore through the Topworth Group and its connected entities', the ED said.

The ED's case of money laundering stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR. The anti-money laundering agency had earlier carried out searches against the company at 12 premises located in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Durg and Delhi.

Details of ownership of various immovable properties and companies, overseas and within India (hitherto not declared), were unearthed during the raids, the ED said.

Foreign currencies valued at more than Rs 7 lakh along with various other incriminating documents were recovered during the searches, it said, adding documents linked to some shell entities 'controlled' by Lodha were also found.