Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has temporarily attached two moveable goods, comprising plant and machinery worth Rs. 3.81 billion, that belong to M/s. SLO Industries Limited in a bank fraud case.
On the basis of an FIR filed by the CBI, BS&FC, Bengaluru against M/s SLO Industries Limited and its Director Anil Kumar Ojha & Others, ED opened a money laundering inquiry.
Through a series of loan facilities from Corporation Bank (now Union Bank of India), M/s SLO Industries Limited was able to swindle the bank of Rs. 201.88 Crore, according to the ED probe. M/s SLO Industries Limited used its group firms to syphon off or divert money through affiliated businesses and accounts held with other institutions. The Letter of Credit beneficiary parties sent monies roughly equal to the LC amount into the borrower’s bank account to cancel the prior outstanding LC. This process is known as round-tripping. It was discovered that the loan money had been used to purchase real estate.
Movable and immovable properties worth Rs. 82.83 Crore had already been attached earlier and subsequently confirmed by Hon’ble Adjudicating Authority, New Delhi in order to stop the sale of the aforementioned properties, which are proceeds of crime, and to prevent the frustration of further proceedings under PMLA, 2002.
Two additional immovable assets/properties owned and managed by Anil Kumar Ojha of SLO Industries Ltd. were discovered as a result of further inquiry into this issue. Anil Kumar Ojha’s method of operation was to syphon money from M/s SLO Industries Ltd’s CC account in order to purchase these properties through a simple mortgage deed. He then had the properties registered in the names of fictitious firms whose directors were M/s SLO Industries Ltd. workers. Further research is being done.
