The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has recently arrested four persons in connection with a bank fraud case amounting to Rs 605 crore by a firm, Shree Bankey Behari Exports Limited.

The accused have been identified as Amar Chand Gupta, Ram Lal Gupta, Raj Kumar Gupta, Directors of Shree Bankey Behari Exports Limited (SBBEL) and Sanjay Kansal, nephew and employee of Amar Chand Gupta.

Advertisement

The ED had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against SBBEL, its directors and others, unknown public servants with allegations that directors of SBBEL in conspiracy with each other and other individuals indulged in the misappropriation of bank funds, criminal breach of trust, manipulation of books of accounts through fictitious entities and sister concerns of SBBEL, and have routed funds through shell entities and siphoned off the funds from company’s accounts for their personal gains causing loss to the tune of Rs 605 crore to the public sector banks.

The ED learnt during the investigation that a web of shell entities were created in the name of different persons by the directors, employees of SBBEL, through which bogus sales — purchases transactions were shown in order to amplify the fake financials of SBBEL.

“Under the garb of these bogus sale-purchases transactions, the banks funds were diverted to the banks accounts of sister concerns of SBBEL and crores of rupees were siphoned off in cash,” an ED official said.

The bank funds sanctioned to SBBEL were transferred to personal bank accounts of directors of SBBEL by routing through their individual proprietorship concerns under guise of non-genuine sale, purchase transactions and infused as share capital totalling Rs 191 crore in SBBEL by them.

The bank funds, which were projected and infused as share capital in MSBBEL were then used to create fixed assets of more than Rs 100 crore by diverting, layering through various entities under their control.

Ram Lal, Raj Kumar and Sanjay Kansal were arrested on August 18 and presented before the Special Judge (PC Act) CBI, Rouse Avenue Court. the court granted remand for 7 days to the ED.

Amar Chand was arrested and produced before Special Judge, CBI, Rouse Avenue Court on August 20, and the court granted remand for 5 days to the ED.