ED attaches Rs. 41.87 crore in Hong Kong in JNPT-OBC bank fraud case

New Delhi [India], Jan 4 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate on Friday attached an amount equivalent to Rs. 41.87 crore in connection with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT)-Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) fraud case.
"Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached an amount equivalent to Rs. 41.87 crore lying in bank accounts in Hong Kong of shell companies in Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust-Oriental Bank of Commerce (JNPT-OBC) bank fraud case," ED said in its statement.
The accused Rajesh Bangawala conspired with the bank officials, and fraudulently transferred fixed deposit worth Rs. 180 crore deposited by Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust to a private entity on the basis of forged documents, the ED said.
The amount was further transferred to various accounts and part of which was siphoned off to Hong Kong in the accounts of shell companies controlled by the accused. An amount of Rs. 109 crore has been recovered and returned to JNPT.
On the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ED has initiated an investigation under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in this case in 2014 and has already attached immovable properties worth Rs. 1.08 crore in India.
The financial probe agency added that a prosecution complaint against the accused persons has also been filed by the ED before the Special Judge PMLA, Mumbai in June, 2018,
"Investigation in India and overseas revealed that an amount of USD 5.29 million and HKD 4.76 million (Rs 41.87 crore) is lying in the accounts of shell companies controlled by accused and accordingly the same is provisionally attached under PMLA," the statement read further.
Further investigation in the matter is underway. (ANI)