Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the alleged Rs 593-crore IDFC First Bank-AU Small Finance Bank fraud, naming 14 persons and business entitiesm and attaching assets worth Rs 200.8 crore.
The complaint was presented before the special PMLA court of judge Vijayant Sehgal in Panchkula on Friday. The court deferred scrutiny of the complaint, noting that it runs into thousands of pages, and listed the matter for Aug 4 to examine the records and await prosecution sanction against one of the accused.
The court exempted the ED complainant, an assistant director, from personal appearance after the agency cited official engagements. It also directed that the four arrested accused, who are in judicial custody, be produced through videoconferencing on the next date of hearing.
Those named in the complaint include former IDFC First Bank employees Ribhav Rishi and Abhay Kumar, real estate businessman Vikram Wadhwa and former Haryana panchayat department superintendent Naresh Kumar. It also named four business entities: Capco Fintech Services Partnership Firm, RS Traders, SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd and Swastik Desh Projects Partnership Firm. Others named in the complaint include Swati Singla, Abhishek Singla, Divya Arora, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Maa Vaibhav Laxmi Interiors and Ankur Sharma.
The ED investigation arises from a CBI FIR alleging the diversion of nearly Rs 593 crore from Haryana government departments through fake bills, forged documents, shell entities and fraudulent banking transactions involving accounts in IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
According to the ED, the proceeds of crime were layered through multiple entities before being invested in real estate, business ventures and other assets to conceal their origin. The agency said it has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 200.8 crore for 180 days under the PMLA, including immovable properties valued at Rs 179.8 crore and movable assets, such as bank accounts and fixed deposits, worth Rs 21 crore.
The attached assets include residential and commercial properties in Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Delhi that are allegedly linked to the accused and associated firms.
