Maharashtra: ED Attaches Multiple Properties In ₹352 Crore Bank Loan Fraud Case Linked To Former NCP MP Ishwarlal Jain

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Nagpur Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached multiple immovable properties located in Jalgaon and Nashik, valued at ₹1.69 crore, in connection with an alleged bank fraud case involving Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Private Limited and three other jewellers.

The benami properties were allegedly acquired through intentional defaults on loans and borrowings from the State Bank of India (SBI), causing a wrongful loss of ₹352.49 crore, including interest, by the promoters of Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers.

In July last year, the ED filed a chargesheet against the promoters and directors of the jewellery companies, including former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Rajya Sabha member Ishwarlal Jain and his son, Manish Jain.

The three Jalgaon-based jewellery companies—Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Pvt Ltd, RL Gold Pvt Ltd, and Manraj Jewellers Pvt Ltd—along with their promoters, directors, and guarantors, namely Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani, Manish Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani, Pushpadevi Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani, and Neetika Manish Jain Lalwani, were named as accused in the alleged loan fraud of over ₹352 crore.

In August 2024, the federal anti-money laundering agency conducted raids at 13 locations linked to the Rajmal Lakhichand group, seizing jewellery and bullion worth ₹24.36 crore and cash worth ₹1.12 crore. The ED had also provisionally attached assets valued at around ₹315.60 crore, including jewellery and windmills, linked to the accused.

The ED’s money laundering probe was initiated based on three cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the directors and promoters, who were booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and criminal misconduct to default on their loans and borrowings from SBI.

A complaint was registered with the CBI against Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers for allegedly causing a loss of ₹206.73 crore, RL Gold for ₹69.19 crore, and Manraj Jewellers for ₹76.57 crore to the bank.

The complaint alleged that the companies availed credit facilities from the State Bank of India and misappropriated the funds by diverting them for purposes other than those for which they were sanctioned, causing a wrongful loss to the bank.