Guwahati, April 30 The Directorate of Enforcement, Guwahati Zonal Office, has filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), Kamrup (Metro), Guwahati, in connection with an alleged bank fraud involving IDBI Bank and wrongful losses amounting to Rs 8.62 crore, officials said on Thursday.
According to an official statement, the complaint has been filed under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, against M/s Ottis Associates Private Limited and its Director, Suresh Kumar Kashliwal, for the alleged commission of offences punishable under the anti-money laundering law.
The Directorate of Enforcement said its probe was initiated on the basis of a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Guwahati under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has already filed a chargesheet against Suresh Kumar Kashliwal, Nirmala Devi Kashliwal, and the company in the matter.
Investigators found that Ottis Associates Private Limited, through its Director, had allegedly fraudulently secured a cash credit facility of Rs 3 crore from IDBI Bank’s Guwahati branch in December 2009 through a pre-planned conspiracy.
The agency alleged that three properties, which had already been sold to third parties before the mortgage was created, were offered as collateral to the bank.
It further claimed that the signatures of guarantors and mortgagors, Rumi Jalan and Narayan Deka, were forged on various bank documents, including guarantee agreements, affidavits, and mortgage letters.
The Directorate of Enforcement also alleged that the death of another guarantor, Muli Devi Sarawgi, who had passed away on June 23, 2009, was concealed from the bank.
In addition, fabricated balance sheets for the financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10, showing inflated income figures, were allegedly submitted to obtain the loan.
According to the agency, after securing the loan, the accused immediately transferred the proceeds into the company’s current account and routed the money through nearly 36 vendor payments, thereby mixing tainted funds with regular business transactions and portraying them as legitimate assets.
The loan account was declared a Non-Performing Asset on December 30, 2013.
IDBI Bank later classified it as fraud on June 4, 2019, and reported the matter to the Reserve Bank of India on July 29, 2019.
The Directorate of Enforcement said that although the accused later settled the gross principal outstanding amount of Rs 3.10 crore through a One Time Settlement with the bank in September-October 2024, the offence of money laundering remains a continuing offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
--IANS
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