ED seizes Rs 9,778-crore assets of Sterling Biotech, promoters in PMLA case

According to the probe agency, the promoters used their employees' names and incorporated 249 domestic and 96 offshore shell companies

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday provisionally attached assets worth Rs 9,778 crore in connection with a money laundering probe against Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech and their fugitive promoters Sandesara brothers’ involvement in a multi-crore bank fraud.

This attachment, one of the biggest seizures in the recent times, is in addition to the assets of worth Rs 4,730 crore, which were seized by the enforcement agency last year. 

The attached properties included four oil rigs and oil field namely OML 143, located in Nigeria, held by Sterling Energy Exploration (SEEPCO), Nigeria. The probe agency also seized ships namely — Tulja, Bhawani,