ED attaches properties worth Rs 10.63 crore in J&K loan fraud case
The agency uncovered a money laundering scheme involving fraudulent Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme loans in Srinagar and Bandipora.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday provisionally attached 11 properties in the Srinagar and Bandipora districts of Jammu and Kashmir, valued at Rs 10.63 crore. According to Rediff, the action is linked to a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities within the Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
The probe was initiated following FIRs from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Srinagar. These investigations alleged that borrowers, bank officials from the Sumbal and Gamud Gadkhud branches of J&K Bank, and other individuals conspired to misappropriate loan funds.
Investigators identified Hilal Ahmad Wani and others as key figures who allegedly secured loans by using the KYC documents of dummy beneficiaries. The agency stated that fake invoices from non-existent companies, which were held by brokers or their relatives, were used to facilitate the fraud.
A survey of the two J&K Bank branches revealed that 270 term loan accounts and 270 working capital accounts under the PMEGP scheme had become non-performing assets (NPAs). The total NPA amount was found to be Rs 32 crore.
The ED has traced proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 11.37 crore. It alleged that these funds were moved through various bank accounts and used for personal gain or to renovate and build assets held by the accused and their families.
The agency stated that the 11 assets were attached under section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to protect the value of the proceeds. Further investigation is currently underway.