The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out Search Operations on 18.08.2023 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at 17 locations in Karnal, Kaithal, Sonepat, Gurugram, Hathras, Gwalior about M/s Sri Hari Har Overseas Pvt Ltd & Others, M/s R G International Pvt Ltd & Others, M/s T C Agro Industries & Others, M/s Suma Foods Pvt Ltd & Others and M/s KTC Foods Pvt Ltd & Others and their related entities.
The ED launched an investigation based on FIRs filed by the CBI under various sections of the IPC, 1860, and the PCA, 1988, relating to criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct with Punjab National Bank and Central Bank of India, resulting in a loss of approximately Rs. 520 crores to the banks. The accused were in the business of husking paddy and rice and operating rice shellers.
The relevant firms and their directors obtained extra funds from the bank by using fraudulent stock statements. Furthermore, the accused deceptively sold the hypothecated stocks and machinery without the bank’s knowledge or agreement, and did not deposit the sale earnings with the bank.
During ED investigations, it was discovered that the accused entities routed large sums of money to their connected businesses and a number of bogus firms in order to route the money without any legitimate commercial operations. During the course of the search, it was discovered that the accused entities and their directors established new businesses with sham directors/partners in order to layer the profits of crime and portray them as untainted by acquiring their mortgaged properties through these dummy entities.
During the examination, it was also discovered that the security guards and other personnel were created as dummy directors. The examination into the source of these assets’ acquisition via sham firms is ongoing.
The accused directors were also discovered to be in possession of the auctioned mortgaged properties. During the search, bank vaults, digital gadgets, other incriminating papers, and more than Rs 20 lakh in cash were discovered and seized. A few live cartridges and a copy of the original weapons licence were also discovered at one of the search locations and turned over to the local police. More research is being conducted.
