Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday provisionally attached immovable and movable assets worth RS 170 crore belonging to Purushottam Chhaganlal Mandhana, former Chairman and Managing Director of the now-defunct Mandhana Industries Limited (MIL), and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached properties include residential flats and commercial offices located in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and Bengaluru, according to officials. The movable assets attached comprise bank balances of Rs 55 lakh, gold and diamond jewellery valued at Rs 41 lakh, shares, securities, sovereign gold bonds, and corporate bonds worth Rs 13 crore. The ED has also attached three high-end cars worth Rs 84.5 lakh and multiple luxury watches valued at RS 70 lakh.
Earlier, the ED had arrested Purushottam mandhana and his son Priyavrat in the case. However, the special court released the purshottam, stating that his arrest was illegal, while the Bombay high court granted interim bail to the son.
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Details On The Probe
The ED initiated the probe following an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Mandhana Industries Ltd (now GB Global Ltd), Purushottam Mandhana, Manish Mandhana, Biharilal Mandhana, and others. The case was filed based on a complaint lodged by the Bank of Baroda, which alleged that the accused defrauded a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 975.08 crore.
According to the ED, Mandhana Industries and its directors hatched a conspiracy to cause financial losses to banks while securing wrongful gains for themselves by diverting loan funds through fraudulent transactions and circular trading. The CBI has not yet filed a chargesheet in the case.
Investigations revealed that Purushottam Mandhana, with the intention of duping the banks, created numerous fictitious entities in the names of his employees and used these entities to layer MIL's funds, including the loan proceeds. To further deceive the banks, he orchestrated bogus sales and purchases involving these entities.
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The ED's probe also discovered that the proceeds of crime were concealed through complex layering and were moved multiple times via bank accounts of different fictitious sister concerns of MIL and personal bank accounts of Mandhana family members. A significant portion of this money was allegedly used by the Mandhana family to repay personal debts, invest in the stock market, and purchase immovable properties and jewellery.
Additionally, the investigation found that shares of Mandhana Industries Limited were traded through the trading and Demat accounts of various fictitious companies, artificially inflating share prices and misleading banks and shareholders.
Further investigation in the case is underway.