On January 12, 2024, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations at 14 locations of M/s SEL Textiles Limited and related individuals/entities in Ludhiana and Nawanshahr, Punjab, in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. This resulted in the seizure of Rs. 60 lakh in cash along with incriminating documents and digital evidence.
The ED opened an investigation based on a formal complaint (FIR) filed by the CBI, New Delhi, under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against M/s SEL Textiles Limited, Late Ram Saran Saluja, Neeraj Saluja, Dhiraj Saluja, and others for allegedly causing wrongful loss to a group of ten banks, headed by the Central Bank of India, by unlawfully using the loan amount for purposes other than those for which it was approved.
M/s SEL Textiles Limited and its directors were found to have fraudulently diverted the loan amount obtained from a consortium of banks led by the Central Bank of India. This was done through a variety of methods, including payments made in lieu of import of machinery through intermediaries for which import is still pending more than ten years after the purchase was made, investments made into their subsidiaries in violation of the terms and conditions of the loan obtained, and the nonrealization of export proceeds.
Previously, during the course of the investigation into this matter, assets valued at approximately Rs. 829 Crore were provisionally attached. These assets included land, machinery, plant, and buildings located at four different locations in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The Hon’ble Adjudicating Authority for PMLA has confirmed this. Additional research is currently being conducted.