Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs. 56.81 crore that belong to fraudsters Bharat Bomb, Shankar Lal Khandelwal, and their other accomplices. These properties include agricultural land, plots, shops, offices, apartments, FDs, and bank accounts.
The FIRs filed and charge sheet submitted by the CBI, BS & FC, New Delhi against the officers of the former Syndicate Bank (now Canara Bank) and others served as the foundation for the ED’s money laundering probe. Investigations found that the principal fraudster, Chartered Accountant Bharat Bomb, of Udaipur (Rajasthan), conspired with bank personnel to swindle the former Syndicate Bank of Rs. 1267.79 Crore between 2011 and 2016. The fraudsters’ methods included obtaining loans in their names or the names of family members as well as phoney cheque discounts that were purportedly issued by shell companies under the control of Bharat Bomb. The scammers never paid back the loans.
The ED’s investigation indicated that Bharat Bomb used a complicated web of activities to layer, position, and integrate the contaminated money before transferring it to numerous bank accounts that he managed or controlled. He made immovable property investments using these contaminated monies in the names of his own family, friends, acquaintances, workers, tribe members, bogus businesses, and other entities.
The ED had already issued four Provisional Attachment Orders during the inquiry into the case, including a cumulative attachment of assets worth Rs. 478.66 Crore. A demand draught worth Rs. 2.25 crore was also seized as part of the operation. With this attachment, the case’s total attachment amounts to approximately Rs. 537.72 Crore. The probe is being expanded upon.
