Pune, March 27 – The ED has attached agricultural land worth Rs 22.51 crore located in the village of Savardari, Khed Taluka, Pune, in connection with a fraudulent letter of credit (LC) scheme that caused a loss of Rs 56.81 crore to SBI, an official said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, has attached the immovable property under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in a money laundering case related to bank fraud committed by Topworth Pipes and Tubes Pvt Ltd (TPTPL) and others, the investigating agency said in a statement.
The attached asset is held in the name of Abhay Lodha, it said.
To date, the ED has attached a total of Rs 38.11 crore worth of assets belonging to Abhay Lodha and entities beneficially owned and controlled by him, in order to recover the total proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 56.81 crore in the hands of Abhay Lodha, the ED said.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI, Bank Securities and Fraud Cell (BS&FC), Mumbai, against TPTPL, its Director Abhay Lodha, and others for offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The ED investigation revealed that TPTPL had fraudulently discounted 24 bills in 11 Letters of Credit from the State Bank of India.
The State Bank of India was unable to receive payment for these 24 bills from the issuing banks because the bills were rejected by the issuing banks/companies, the ED said.
In this manner, the State Bank of India suffered a wrongful loss of Rs 56.81 crore due to the fraud perpetrated by Topworth Pipes and Tubes Pvt Ltd, it said.
The ED investigation revealed that TPTPL, under the direction of Abhay Narendra Lodha, fraudulently obtained funds by discounting Letters of Credit (LCs) without actually supplying goods.
Forged invoices, fake lorry receipts, and fabricated documents were submitted to banks, resulting in wrongful gains for the accused and wrongful losses for the banks. In the majority of LC transactions, either no goods were supplied or only partially supplied, while full amounts were fraudulently obtained, the ED said.
Abhay Narendra Lodha, being the key promoter and decision-maker of the Topworth Group, controlled financial operations and directed the preparation of forged documents and the routing of funds, the ED said.
The investigation revealed that funds obtained through fraudulent LC discounting were not used for intended business purposes but were diverted towards repaying existing liabilities and routed through multiple group and shell entities, thereby layering the proceeds of crime.
Earlier, the ED provisionally attached assets amounting to Rs 15.60 crore in this case and filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai.
During the investigation, immovable property in the name of Abhay Lodha was identified, and an attachment order dated March 26 was issued to seize these immovable properties worth Rs 22.51 crore, the ED said.