ED attaches Rs 40-crore assets of Bengaluru company in bank loan fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 40.14 crore of a Bengaluru-based company in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a bank fraud case.

The attached assets, which include residential apartments, plots, agricultural lands and bank deposits, belong to Kavveri Telecom Infrastructure Limited. The money laundering case against the company arose from a CBI FIR filed in July 2015.

The CBI registered the FIR after Dena Bank filed a complaint against the company and its directors accusing them of cheating the bank in connection with defaulting on loan.

"The company and its directors took loans from the erstwhile Dena Bank to the tune of Rs 45 crore in the name of purchase of equipment. However, it was diverted through its sister concerns and conduit entities controlled by them. For availing the loan, the directors of the company submitted fake and fabricated tax invoices and lorry receipts etc. with the bank," the ED said in a statement.

The loan amount was "diverted" using various accounts of group entities which include conduit entities and the personal saving accounts of promoters or directors, it said adding it was rotated among the bank accounts of group entities and directors. A web of transactions was created to project this money as untainted, it said.

"A part of this money to the tune of Rs 27.14 crore was siphoned off abroad and parked there. Also, the proceeds of crime were used to acquire movable and immovable properties in the name of directors and their family members," the ED said adding the account was declared NPA (non-performing asset) later.