A London property near Heathrow Airport has been seized by Indian authorities as part of a money laundering investigation into a major bank fraud case involving Neo Corp International Ltd.
Key Points
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a property worth Rs 7.5 crore near London's Heathrow Airport in connection with a bank fraud case.
- The case involves Neo Corp International Ltd and its directors, who are accused of defrauding Indian banks.
- The ED's investigation revealed a complex web of transactions involving shell companies used to siphon funds to foreign jurisdictions.
- The probe stems from FIRs filed by the CBI against Poly Logic International Pvt Ltd and Neo Corp International for allegedly defrauding Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India, respectively.
An immovable asset worth Rs 7.5 crore and located near London's Heathrow Airport has been attached under the anti-money laundering law in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday.
The provisional attachment order was issued on Tuesday in the case involving Neo Corp International Ltd, and its directors and promoters, the federal agency said in a statement.
The market value of the attached asset is about Rs 7.5 crore and it is situated near the Heathrow Airport in London, it said.
Details of the Fraud Investigation
The ED case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stems from two FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The first case involves a company named Poly Logic International Pvt Ltd, its director Utkarsh Trivedi and others who are accused of cheating the Punjab National Bank of Rs 57 crore.
The second case is against Neo Corp International, its MD Sunil Kumar Trivedi and others who are alleged to have defrauded the State Bank of India (SBI) to the tune of Rs 249.97 crore.
Findings of the Investigation
According to the ED, the probe found that "extensive" fund transfers were done among a cartel of companies, designed to create a "complex" web of banking transactions.
The two companies, through their directors, engaged in financial dealings with entities suspected to be "dummy" firms floated in the names of employees and close associates.
These "shell" companies acted as conduits to route, rotate and layer funds between related entities, effectively camouflaging the movement and end use of the proceeds of crime, the agency claimed.
"Investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime were siphoned off to foreign jurisdictions under the guise of investment," it said.
