31 August,2023 04:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said that it has arrested the promoter and managing director of a Mumbai-registered steel and power company in a money laundering case. The probe agency, according to the PTI report, stated that the money laundering case is linked to an alleged bank fraud.
The report by news agency PTI citing ED officials said that Abhay Narendra Lodha was taken into custody on Wednesday and that a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court had sent him to ED custody till September 8.
The agency in its statement had said that Lodha is the promoter and MD of Topworth Steels and Power Private Limited (TSPPL) and the Topworth Group. Reportedly, the company's website stated that its registered office is located in Mumbai and its plant in Chhattisgarh's Durg district. The website also said that the company is presently undergoing a corporate insolvency resolution process (CRIP).
The Enforcement Directorate stated that in their probe they found that the company caused wrongful loss of Rs 63.10 crore to IDBI Bank by committing fraud and generated proceeds to a tune of Rs 3,000 crore.
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"In addition to causing a wrongful loss of Rs 63.10 crore to the IDBI Bank by committing fraud in the credit facility of the Letter of Credit and Trade Credit Bank Guarantee (LC/TCBG) during 2014-15 to 2016-17, the Topworth Group of companies controlled by Abhay Narendra Lodha also generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore through the Topworth Group and its connected entities", the report cited ED statement.
According to the agency's statement, the ED's case of money laundering stemmed from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) First Information Report (FIR). The anti-money laundering agency reportedly carried out searches against the company at 12 premises located in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Durg and Delhi.
The ED said that the details of ownership of various immovable properties and companies, offshore and within India (hitherto not declared) was unearthed during the raids. It also recovered foreign currencies valued at over Rs 7 lakh along with various other incriminating documents including documents linked to shell entities "controlled" by Lodha.
