The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 413 agricultural land parcels in a bank loan fraud case of Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an official said on Tuesday.

The attached land parcels had a registered value of Rs 52.90 crore.

The ED had initiated an investigation based on the FIR filed by the EOW, Mumbai Police, under various sections of the IPC, against Joy Thomas, Waryam Singh (Directors of PMC Bank), Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, Sarang Wadhawan, and other unidentified persons.

“Housing Development & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (HDIL), its promoters, and other co-accused/accomplices perpetrated a fraud resulting in a loss of Rs 6,117.93 crore against Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC),” the ED said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ED investigation also revealed that during the period 2010 to 2013, HDIL promoters Sarang Wadhawan and Rakesh Wadhawan diverted Proceeds of Crime amounting to Rs 82.30 crore to the accounts of 39 farmers through their subsidiary companies, namely, Privilege Power and Infrastructure Limited and Privilege Hi-Tech Infrastructure Limited for the acquisition of lands.

The agency said that Sarang Wadhawan, in collusion with his employee Mukesh Khadpe, persuaded farmers to acquire lands in their names and transfer the ownership to HDIL group companies in exchange for commissions and other benefits.

Cash transactions were also utilised for land acquisitions.

Previously, on October 17, 2019, the principal accused, Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, and his son Sarang Wadhawan were arrested for their involvement in the offence of money laundering.

A prosecution complaint and two supplementary complaints have already been filed against them and 36 other individuals/entities.

To date, the ED has attached assets totaling Rs 719.11 crore under the provisions of PMLA.

(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)