ED arrests steel, power firms’ MD in 63 crore bank fraud case

The Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Mumbai Thursday remanded promoter and managing director of Topworth Steels and Power Pvt Ltd (TSPPL) and Topworth Group, arrested in a money laundering case, to ED custody until September 8.

On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Abhay Narendra Lodha in the money laundering case for defrauding the IDBI Bank to the tune of Rs 63 crore. According to the central agency’s statement Thursday, it had also raided 12 premises at various locations in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Durg in connection with the case.

ED began its investigation under PMLA against the company on the basis of an FIR registered by the Bank Security and Frauds Cell (BS&FC) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The FIR had named Topworth Steels and Power, Abhay Narendra Lodha, and others.After the agency raided 12 premises linked to the accused as part of their investigation, details of ownership of various immovable properties and companies overseas and within India, which have not been declared, were unearthed during the searches, according to officials.Foreign currencies of different countries worth above Rs 7 lakh along with various other incriminating documents and media have also been recovered.The probe shows that the Topworth Group of companies also generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore through the Topworth Group and its connected entities, added the statement.