New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said that it has attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 6.07 crore in a bank fraud case involving Damodar Developers Pvt. Ltd. and others.

The financial probe agency in a statement said that the agency attached the properties worth Rs 6.07 crore of the company under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attached assets consist of balances in 11 bank accounts, three flats, one office premises, covered space and garages having a total area of 12,244 square feet and one landed property in an area of 29 Cottah in West Bengal. These belong to Damodar Developers Pvt. Ltd and its directors Parthasarathi Ghosh, Kallol Mukhopadhyay, Probal Mukherjee, their family members and associated companies or firms.

The ED lodged a case on the basis of the CBI FIR against M/s. Damodar Developers Pvt. Ltd, its directors and others for defrauding the SBI.

It has been alleged that Damodar Developers and its directors in connivance with others hatched a criminal conspiracy and defrauded the State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 64.57 crore by producing forged documents and inducing the bank to accept fictitious properties as collateral securities which are not in existence.

During the probe it was found that Damodar Developers was sanctioned a working capital limit of Rs 60 crore in the form of cash credit loan by the SBI for distributorship business of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

"Funds availed from the banks were diverted without any underlying business and unrelated purposes by layering through several associated/related companies/firm and also by cash withdrawals for personal purposes," it said.

"Huge amount of cash has been withdrawn from the cash credit account to be used in unrelated purposes like purchasing four fake or forged lease deeds of landed properties to be used as additional collateral with ulterior motive of availing enhanced credit facilities/limit from the bank," the ED said.

It claimed that after distribution of stock purchased from the loan funds, the sale proceeds received from retailers were required to be credited back in the cash credit account of the SBI.

It also said that a substantial part of business was done in cash only and the sale proceeds received in cash from the retailers were not credited in the cash credit account in the SBI by the directors of the company.