Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jun 17: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at 11 premises across Karnal, Delhi and Goa in connection with a money laundering investigation involving an alleged bank fraud of Rs 155.21 crore.
According to the agency, the searches were carried out at locations linked to Ashok Mittal, Sourabh Dhingra, Bharat Bhushan Mittal, Raman Singhal and others. The case has been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a CBI FIR filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The investigation pertains to Mahesh Timber Pvt Ltd, in which Deepak Singla, Aam Aadmi Party's Goa in-charge, has been named as an accused. The alleged fraud is said to have caused losses of around Rs 155.21 crore to Oriental Bank of Commerce and a consortium of lending banks.
The ED alleged that Deepak Singla, his brother Raman Singhal and their maternal uncle Ashok Kumar Mittal operated a network of interconnected firms in India and Singapore to execute fraudulent financial transactions.
According to investigators, Foreign Letters of Credit initially sanctioned to Mahesh Timber for Rs 21.48 crore were allegedly enhanced fraudulently to Rs 173.04 crore through forged Bills of Lading, Bills of Entry, contracts and other trade-related documents submitted to banks.
The agency claimed that no actual import of timber took place and that the transactions were supported by fabricated documents. During remand proceedings of Deepak Singla before a Panchkula court, the ED stated that investigations conducted by the CBI and the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had found that a majority of the import documents were fake and forged.
The ED has also alleged the involvement of former Oriental Bank of Commerce branch manager Surender Kumar Ranga, who was subsequently terminated from service. According to the agency, Ranga allegedly agreed to enhance the Letters of Credit beyond approved limits after being promised assistance in settling in Singapore by one of the accused.
Further investigation into the alleged money laundering and bank fraud case is underway.