The Enforcement Directorate today "provisionally" attached assets to the tune of Rs 411 crore of REI Agro Ltd in an alleged Rs 3,871 crore bank fraud case.
The agency, in 2016, had registered a money laundering case against the company, which claims to the world's largest basmati rice processing firm.
"It was alleged that REI Agro Ltd and its directors, Sandip Jhunjhunwala, Sanjay Jhunjhunwala and others, availed various credit facilities and limits from various banks under consortium arrangement including UCO Bank and defrauded the banks from 2013 onwards to the tune of Rs 3871.71 crore, by diverting the funds fraudulently for the purpose other than for which the same was sanctioned," the ED said in a statement.
It said assets totaling Rs 411.24 crore have been provisionally attached.
"During the investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it was revealed that REI Agro Ltd and its directors, Sandip Jhunjhunwala and others, diverted the funds sanctioned as working capital loan by 14 banks under consortium led by UCO Bank using different modus operandi," it said.
They allegedly invested the money in Varrsana Ispat Pvt Ltd directly and through controlled companies, set higher amount of capex advances given to various companies by way of arbitration at a very low amount, showed higher cost of construction and by way of arranging fake purchase or sale bills, etc. The statement said.
"Accordingly, the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached properties of the REI Agro Ltd in the form of land located at Sonipat in Haryana, of M/s Varrsana Ispat Pvt. Ltd. In the form of machinery and equipment, land and buildings located in Kutch, Gujarat...," it said.
The agency said assets of Quick Connect dot com and its director located at Sainik Farm, New Delhi have also been attached which total to Rs. 411.24 crore.
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