The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it has seized around a dozen luxury vehicles and three super bikes following raids conducted at the premises of businessman Shakti Ranjan Dash and related entities in Bhubaneswar.
The searches were carried out in connection with the money laundering probe into alleged ₹1,396 crore bank loan fraud case against a Himachal Pradesh-based company Indian Technomac Company Ltd (ITCOL).
The investigative agency conducted raids on Saturday on the premises of Anmol Mines Pvt. Ltd. (AMPL) and Anmol Resources Pvt. Ltd. (ARPL), and their Managing Director (MD), Shakti Ranjan Dash, in the Odisha capital.
ITCOL obtained loans from a consortium-led by the Bank of India between 2009 and 2013 by submitting “forged” detailed project reports and by showing fake sales to dummy/shell companies, the ED said in a statement on Sunday.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Himachal Pradesh Police CID against ITCOL and its promoters, alleging that its directors, in connivance with staff of various companies and CAs, siphoned off loans availed from a consortium of banks.
The loans obtained by ITCOL were not utilised for the purposes they were sanctioned for, and the “fraud” was to the tune of ₹1,396 crore, the ED said.
Earlier, the probe agency had attached assets worth ₹310 crore in this case, out of which, it has restituted (restored) properties worth ₹289 crore to the victim banks in April.
ITCOL and its related shell entities “diverted” ₹59.80 crore into the bank accounts of AMPL, and it is alleged that Dash “knowingly” assisted ITCOL promoter Rakesh Kumar Sharma in utilising these funds for mining activities in Odisha.
During searches, 10 luxury vehicles and three super bikes belonging to Dash and companies beneficially owned by him were seized, the ED statement said.
The seized vehicles include a Porsche Cayenne, a Mercedes-Benz GLC, a BMW X7, an Audi A3, a Mini Cooper, and a Honda Gold Wing Bike worth more than ₹7 crore.
₹13 lakh in cash and jewellery worth ₹1.12 crore have also recovered.