NT Reporter
Panaji
The Panaji zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 2.86 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with a bank fraud case.
The attached assets are 24 plots of land and a villa located in South Goa.
The action follows an investigation initiated by the directorate based on an FIR and a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) anti-corruption bureau, Goa zone, against Crown Minerals Trading Corporation (CMTC) and its partners.
According to the ED, the CMTC partners allegedly conspired to defraud a nationalised bank by fraudulently securing a Rs 7 crore open cash credit (OCC) loan facility, under the guise of operating a raw iron ore trading business. The loan was later defaulted upon.
The investigation revealed that the accused mortgaged properties that were already pledged with other banks and financial institutions, using them as collateral to secure the loan. Soon after disbursement, the loan funds were allegedly siphoned off into the personal and proprietary bank accounts of the partners, masked as business transactions, the central agency said.
Directorate officials stated that these illicit funds, considered proceeds of crime, were used for personal gain and to acquire further immovable
assets.
The properties now attached by the directorate are 22 plots in Dharbandora owned by partner Riyaz Shaikh, and two plots in Cuncolim and a row villa in Fatorda owned by a managing partner.
These assets were reportedly purchased using illicit funds and reflect the value of the proceeds of crime.
The total proceeds of crime in the case have been estimated at Rs 7 crore, the ED added.
