ED freezes assets worth Rs 48 crores of Kanishk Gold

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday froze properties and machinery worth Rs 48 crores of Chennai-based Kanishk Gold Private Limited (KGPL) in the case of defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 824.15 crore.

“ED freezes Land, buildings, Plant and Machinery worth Rs 48 Crores of M/s Kanishk Gold Private Limited, Pukkathurai, Kancheepuram & others, manufacturing 'KRIZZ’ brand gold jewellery, during search at their factory under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case of bank fraud,” the agency said on Tuesday.

The scam was unearthed in November last year and reported to CBI by the State Bank of India in January this year, but the central agency took two months to file a case against Bhoopesh Kumar Jain and his wife Neeta Jain.

The Jains are accused of “misrepresenting/falsifying the records and financial statements” of the company showing a rosy picture since 2009 for the purpose of availing credit facilities from the bank and thereby committing criminal breach of trust and cheating the lenders.

SBI is the lead bank in the consortium of 14 public and private sector banks, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Corporation Bank and the scam-hit Punjab National Bank, that have disbursed loans to the tune of Rs 824.15 crore.

The first signs of sickness in KGPL was first noticed in March, 2017 when the company first delayed payment of interest and the directors went out of reach.

When the consortium members visited the corporate office, factory and showrooms in and around Chennai, they found that there was no activity in any of the facilities.