The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at around 35 locations in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Nagpur on Thursday as part of an alleged money laundering investigation involving the Amtek Group and its directors, including Arvind Dham and Gautam Malhotra. The probe centers on an alleged bank loan fraud exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. The searches, which began in the morning, targeted both business and residential premises.
The case pertains to allegations of a bank fraud of over Rs 20,000 crore. This alleged fraud involved acquiring multiple listed companies at low prices through National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings, resulting in minimal recovery for a consortium of banks. This has reportedly caused a significant loss to the exchequer upto to Rs 20,000 cr.
The ED's investigation was launched following a first information report by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against ACIL Ltd., a group entity, and directions from the Supreme Court. The probe agency believed that loan funds were allegedly diverted to real estate, foreign investments, and new ventures. The group is accused of recording fake sales, capital assets, debtors, and profits to secure additional loans and avoid being classified as non-performing assets (NPA).
It is alleged that Shares of listed companies were allegedly manipulated, and the books of accounts were falsified to obtain larger loans with the help of auditors and professionals. Assets worth thousands of crores have been parked in the names of shell companies, numerous foreign assets have been created, and money is still being parked under new names through benami directors and shareholders
