Two Ashoka Univ founders among 3 held by ED for alleged money laundering

The Guptas are the co-founders of Sonepat-based Ashoka University but had stepped down from their posts in 2022 at the educational institution after the CBI registered a case against them

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested two promoters of Chandigarh-based pharma company Parabolic Drugs and its chartered accountant in a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged bank fraud, official sources said.

The central agency continued with its searches against the group for the second day, including at the Ashoka University's corporate and registered offices in Delhi and campus in Haryana's Sonepat.

A total of 17 premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Panchkula were covered by the ED after the raids were launched on Friday.

The sources said Parabolic Drugs promoters Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta and CA S K Bansal were taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a long session of questioning.

 

The Guptas are also the co-founders of the Sonepat-based Ashoka University but had stepped down from their posts at the educational institution in 2022 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against them and the company in 2021.

The three are expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Chandigarh where the ED will seek their custody.

The university on Friday said the "Enforcement Directorate has sought information in the matter of investigations into the case of Parabolic Drugs where Ashoka University founders, Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta, are directors".

While a statement from the institute on the ED action is awaited, it had said Parabolic Drugs was "in no way linked to the Ashoka University".

"Ashoka University has no past or current relationship with Parabolic Drugs, the company being investigated, and any attempt to create a link is without any basis and misleading," it had said.

The money-laundering case stems from a CBI FIR in which the promoters and the pharma company were booked for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks, led by the Central Bank of India, of Rs 1,626.74 crore.

According to the sources, the ED suspects that the Guptas "layered and diverted" bank loan funds to the tune of Rs 7 crore to the university.

It has found documents that allegedly show that an amount of the loan funds was transferred in September 2013 to an infrastructure company and was further transferred to Vineet Gupta's bank accounts and of this, he reportedly sent Rs 1 crore to the university.

Another amount of Rs 50 lakh is under the ED's scanner as the agency suspects it was transferred to a sister company of Parabolic Drugs (Jamboree Education Private Limited) and subsequently, transferred to the university by Vineet Gupta.

The agency is looking at a total of 20 linked companies as part of the bank-loan fraud case, the sources said.

"Vineet and Pranav Gupta are two among the more than 200 founders and donors of the Ashoka University who have contributed to Ashoka's creation and growth in their personal philanthropic capacity and whose individual businesses have absolutely no bearing on the university," the university had said.