Kolkata, March 9 – The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office, has filed a supplementary charge sheet before the Special Court (PMLA) in Kolkata in connection with the ongoing money laundering investigation against Shree Ganesh Jewellery House (I) Ltd. (SGJHIL) and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
In a statement issued on Monday, the central agency said that a total of 15 new accused persons, including five individuals and 10 entities allegedly used for diversion and laundering of proceeds of crime, have been named in the supplementary charge sheet.
Pratyush Kumar Sureka, who was arrested in January this year under Section 19 of the PMLA, has also been named as an accused in the charge sheet.
The case originates from an FIR registered by the CBI’s Bank Securities and Fraud Cell (BS&FC) in Kolkata relating to an alleged bank fraud of approximately Rs 2,672 crore involving a consortium of 25 banks led by the State Bank of India.
Investigations revealed that SGJHIL and its promoters allegedly obtained and enhanced credit facilities based on false financial statements and inflated export bills and subsequently diverted and siphoned off loan funds through a network of domestic and overseas entities.
The investigation under the PMLA established that a substantial portion of bank loan funds sanctioned for the jewellery business was diverted into a solar power project through M/s Alex Astral Power Pvt. Ltd.
According to the ED, SGJHIL infused Rs 120 crore as equity through five conduit entities that had no independent business activity.
The project further availed Rs 280 crore in bank finance backed by corporate guarantees of SGJHIL, resulting in total investments of around Rs 400 crore.
Further investigation revealed that the solar power plant, backed by a long-term Power Purchase Agreement ensuring stable revenue, was allegedly transferred through sham and grossly undervalued transactions for less than Rs 20 crore to entities controlled by related parties.
In continuation of the investigation, the ED has also attached properties worth approximately Rs 95.75 crore, including the solar power plant set up through M/s Alex Astral Power Pvt. Ltd. in Gujarat and three high-value residential flats situated at Godrej Platinum in Alipore, Kolkata.