
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a provisional order to attach several immovable properties worth Rs. 442.85 crore belonging to erstwhile promoters Siddhant Gupta and Sanjay Dhingra of Kwality Ltd.
The order is in connection with ED probe into a case linked to alleged bank fraud and falls under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The attached properties include a farmhouse at DLF Chhatarpur, residential properties at Vasant Vihar and Punjabi Bagh in Delhi, and several residential plots at Karnal and Mohali owned by the erstwhile promoters of Kwality Limited, the officials said.
The agency officials alleged that the ED in its investigation found that driver and security guard of the promoters were made the directors in such companies, which defrauded banks.
“The FIR alleged that Kwality Limited through the erstwhile Directors indulged in falsification and fabrication of books of accounts by misrepresentation of sales, purchases, debtors and creditors and thereby cheated the Consortium of banks,” a senior ED official said.
The bank fraud is to the tune of Rs 1,400.62 crore, according to the CBI FIR.
ED investigation revealed that the then promoters and directors fudged the books of accounts to show higher sales and debtors, they said.
“Huge amounts of trading (sales and purchase) were made without actual physical deliveries or receipt of the goods at factory premises. It was also noticed that sham companies and firms operated through implanted and dummy owners were used to divert the bank funds," the official said.
"The funds diverted through the stated modus were circulated, layered to conceal its origin and routed to different accounts as per the instructions of the promoters for purposes not intended by the banks,” the official also said.
ED had earlier conducted search operations at 15 locations connected with the erstwhile promoters of Kwality Ltd on November 27 last year.
It had also seized cash amounting to Rs 1.3 crore and various evidence related to assets and bank accounts held through several shell companies by the promoters.
The agency officials said high-end luxury cars like Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, having purchase value of about Rs 4 crore purchased in the name of the benami and dummy companies were also found during the search and were seized.
Further Demat accounts having an investment value of about Rs 2.5 Crore were also frozen, they added.