Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized around 2 kg gold along with cash and other incriminating material during raids at various commercial and residential properties belonging to two real estate firms in the City in connection with a loan fraud case. The central agency sleuths conducted raids at 8 places related to M/s GDS Builders Pvt. Ltd., M/s Surnag Builders Pvt. Ltd. and other persons Thursday.
“ED has carried out search operations under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 on 18.5.2023 8 residential and commercial premises in Bhubaneswar in bank fraud cases pertaining to M/s GDS Builders Pvt. Ltd., M/s Surnag Builders Pvt. Ltd. and others,” ED reveals on its official twitter handle.
ED sources also asserted that gold jewellery weighing 1.978 kilograms worth `1.13 crore, `15 Lakh in cash, sale deeds of certain properties, various incriminating documents and certain electronic devices were seized after the search.
Notably, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered three separate cases on the basis of complaint lodged by one Roop Lal Meena, then Deputy General Manager, Regional Office of Union Bank of India (UBI), Bhubaneswar region July 1, 2019.
As per the complaint, three officers of the UBI, Bhubaneswar Mohapatra, Ashwini Kumar Patra and Rajesh Kumar Patanga, deployed at the Nayapalli branch here in connivance with the directors of M/s GDS Builders Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Surnag Builders Pvt. Ltd. and 44 borrowers duped the bank to the tune of `30 crores on the pretext of housing loans in 2017. The accused submitted forged documents to secure the loan from the bank. The CBI had arrested five persons including the accused former bank employees in December 2020.
Later, ED registered a case against the accused realtor and others under the PMLA act and launched investigation of allegations of money laundering by the accused in the case.
PNN