Assam: ED attaches properties worth Rs 6.56 crore in bank loan fraud case​

Guwahati, May 9 The Directorate of Enforcement, Guwahati Zonal Office, has provisionally attached six immovable properties worth around Rs 6.56 crore in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged bank loan fraud by M/s Agnipa Energo Pvt. Ltd. and others, officials said on Saturday.​

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the attached properties include two commercial spaces in “Shine Towers” and two flats along with two penthouses in the “Shine Heaven” project, all located in Guwahati.​

The agency said the properties are held in the names of Anil Jaina, Runu Jaina, and M/s Shine Realtors Pvt. Ltd.​

The Enforcement Directorate initiated the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Anti-Corruption Branch, Guwahati, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, following a complaint filed by Bank of India.​

Officials said the Central Bureau of Investigation later filed a chargesheet in October 2024 against nine accused persons, including three promoter-directors of the borrower company, three Bank of India officials, and partners of the conduit entity M/s Shine Mechfab JV.​

The investigation revealed that the promoter-directors of M/s Agnipa Energo Pvt. Ltd. allegedly secured a Rs 10.65 crore loan from Bank of India in February 2013 for a small hydropower project in Assam’s Baksa district by submitting fabricated documents.​

According to officials, forged records were allegedly used to falsely show an equity infusion of Rs 3.75 crore through M/s Urch Traders Pvt. Ltd., while a substituted certificate was also submitted in the name of a person who was never the company's statutory auditor.​

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that out of the Rs 9.33 crore disbursed between 2013 and 2015, nearly Rs 8.67 crore was siphoned off to related entities, including M/s Shine Mechfab JV, M/s Shine Realtors, M/s Shine Combine, and M/s Shine Shelters Pvt. Ltd.​

Officials further alleged that funds were diverted through round-tripping transactions and through undisclosed bank accounts, in violation of the sanction conditions, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 8.76 crore to Bank of India.​

Further investigation into the case is underway, officials added.​

--IANS

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