New Delhi [India], July 2 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached Rs 58.34 crore properties of Ritu Singal, wife of Neeraj Singal, promoter of erstwhile Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL), in connection with a money laundering probe.
The attached properties comprise immovable properties in the form of land and a part of residential property, situated in Indore, Madhya Pradesh; and movable properties in the form of equity shares and bank balances held in the name of Ritu. ED's Delhi zonal office attached these movable and immovable properties on June 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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ED initiated an investigation based on a criminal complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against erstwhile BSL, Neeraj and others. The complaint had invoked scheduled offences under the PMLA, 2002.
ED investigation revealed that Neeraj and associates diverted funds from erstwhile BSL in the garb of genuine transactions, causing loss to the tune of Rs 11446.73 crore to financial institutions.
"Investigation revealed the Zinc Ingots, purchased from Hindustan Zinc Limited, which were meant for the plants of erstwhile BSL, were sold out of books, in the open market by the accused persons," said the ED in a statement.
"This resulted in cash payments being received by the accused persons. Such cash generated from out-of-books sale of Zinc Ingots from erstwhile BSL was used for availing accommodation entries of bogus Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) from various penny stock companies. The siphoning of cash by way of out-of-books sale of Zinc Ingots from erstwhile BSL was also corroborated by the fact of huge unaccounted cash deposited in the bank accounts during the relevant period."
Earlier, ED had provisionally attached assets worth Rs 61.38 crore on November 8, 2021 and Rs 367 crore on March 6, 2024.
A Prosecution Complaint dated August 8, 2023 and a Supplementary Prosecution Complaint dated March 7, 2024, have been filed against Neeraj, Ritu and other accused persons and the PMLA court has taken cognisance of the same.