ED raids 35 places linked to Amtek group in ₹20,000-cr bank fraud case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at 35 places associated with the Amtek Group in Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra in connection with a bank fraud case of more than ₹20,000 crores in several listed companies. These companies were eventually taken over in NCLT proceedings at a nominal price, resulting in minimal recovery for the consortium of banks.
According to the ED, the alleged fraud has caused a loss of approximately Rs.10-15,000 crores to the exchequer.
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Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED raided places in Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, and Nagpur, all linked to the Amtek Group which was led by Arvind Dham, Gautam Malhotra, and others.
Initially, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had a First Information Report on one of the companies in the Amtek Group, ACIL Limited. The Supreme Court also instructed them to investigate the fraud. The ED started their investigation based on CBI’s FIR and as per Supreme Court directions to investigate the fraud.
The ED probe revealed that the loan funds were siphoned off to invest in new ventures, real estate and foreign investments.
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The investigation also revealed fictitious sales, capital assets, debtors and profit were shown in a manner that they could avail more loans so that it does not get NPA.
According to the ED, “It is alleged that listed companies’ shares were rigged. A thousand crores of assets have been parked in shell companies’ names. Some foreign assets have been created and money is still parked under the new names.”
