New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said that it has arrested Shahshikant Kumar and a court sent him to six day agency's custody in connection with the case of Kotak Mahindra Bank fraud in Bihar's Patna. 

The financial probe agency in a statement said that Kumar was arrested on August 2 after his return from Dubai at the Bhubaneswar airport as a look out circular was opened against him. A Special PMLA court in Patna on Friday sent him to ED custody for six days. On August 2, the court had sent him to judicial custody till August 7.

The ED said that Kumar was arrested under the sections of Money Laundering under PMLA, 2002 in the case of Kotak Mahindra Bank fraud.

The ED case is based on the FIR registered by Patna Police under various sections of IPC 1860.

In its chargesheet the police alleged that 13 fraudulent transactions totaling to Rs 31.93 crore from the bank account of Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) cum District Land Acquisition Officer (DLAO) were executed and funds were siphoned off using bank accounts of various shells or dummy entities causing huge loss to government exchequer.

The ED said that during ED probe, Sumit Kumar, the then bank manager, Kotak Mahindra Bank posted at Boring Road Branch in Patna was arrested by ED on July 10 this year.

The ED said, "Probe revealed that Kumar was one of the close associates of Sumit Kumar in siphoning of government funds and he arranged entities and their bank accounts for routing of funds and subsequently facilitated conversion of the same into cash."

"He assisted Sumit Kumar and his associates in transfer of funds using hawala channels," it added.