New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached plant and machinery worth Rs 234.11 crore of Punjab-based Kudos Chemie Ltd under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an ongoing case against the company and its directors relating to an alleged bank fraud, the agency said on Friday.
The ED initiated investigation on the basis of First Information Report (FIR) lodged by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery of valuable securities against the firm and its promoters and directors Jitendra Singh, Gurmeet Sodhi, Kabir Sodhi and other persons.
It was alleged in the FIR that Kudos Chemie Ltd had been sanctioned "term loans/WCTLs/FITLs and Working Capital Limits" by the Punjab National Bank (PNB) and its other consortium member banks but the company had not utilised the credit facilities in line with the terms of sanctions agreed upon, said an ED statement.
"The loan amounts were diverted/siphoned off by Kudos Chemie Ltd and other accused persons with intention to cause wrongful loss to banks and wrongful gain to themselves."
The PMLA investigations conducted so far have revealed that Jitendra Singh, Managing Director of Kudos Chemie Ltd had submitted forged export bills to PNB and got them discounted in connivance with some officials of the bank to the tune of Rs 361.94 crore, the agency statement said.
It said that the released amount was utilised for adjustments of cash credit accounts and other outstanding liabilities which was not in the line with the terms of sanctions agreed upon for the purpose. "The same was fraudulently diverted through other accounts of the company projecting the proceeds of crime as untainted money."
Thus, the money has been generated as a result of criminal activity relating to scheduled offences, the statement said.
The ED had earlier also attached properties worth Rs 109.03 crore situated at Kuranwala village in Punjab's Mohali district and house property at Chandigarh under PMLA.
Further the investigations in the case are in progress.