Deccan Chronicle

ED takes over Gokul Bank & Bipin cases Musaddilal Jewellers MD changed version thrice

Assets of the accused will be seized if proved guilty

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The Enforcemen­t Directorat­e has taken up two major cases from the city — the Gokul Urban Cooperativ­e Bank fraud and the Jeweller Bipin Jain case. Their properties will be attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act if proven guilty after the investigat­ion.

Hyderabad Central Crime Station sleuths had written to the ED to take up both the cases and attach properties. CCS sources said that henceforth all major cases involving government and public funds will be sent to the ED.

""Under CrPC the provisions on attaching properties are ambiguous. But under PMLA there are provisions to attach properties acquired with crime proceeds. So we have decided to hand over all major cases involving big money and that of the government or large numbers of citizens to the ED," said a CCS official.

The police arrested a conman named Bipin Jain of Somajiguda on last December 15 who allegedly cheated gold and diamond merchants of the city.

On December 18, the CCS arrested CEO J. Balaiah Yadav of Gokul Cooperativ­e Urban Bank for cheating the eSeva run by the IT department of Telangana government by misappropr­iating funds worth `3.06 crore. Bank chairman Cheemala Jagadish Yadav was also arrested. CCS said the accused took loans and used it to buy cars and gold. The MD of Musaddilal Jewellers, Nitin Gupta, and others involved in the demonetise­d currency notes conversion case, have taken a Uturn after paying `5 crore as tax on the `109 crore sales by submitting retraction affidavits to the IT department. CCS sleuths, who want the stay on Mr Gupta’s arrest lifted, said in their counter filed in the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday, that Mr Gupta has changed his version thrice.

CCS in its affidavit filed in High Court said the accused persons had initially claimed that the entire `100 crore (that they had deposited in old notes immediatel­y after demonetisa­tion) was accumulate­d through advance cash receipts from 5,200 customers who had purchased gold from them.

After the case was registered and after the arrest of three persons, Kailash Chand Gupta, Neel Sundar and Narender ji, the accused claimed that they owned the entire amount, that it was black money, and that they paid `5 crore towards the Pradhan Manthri Garib Kalyan Yojna as part of the payment of Income Tax penalty.

The CCS said that on the contrary, the accused Neel Sundar of Ashtalaksh­mi Gold Bullion, had confessed that he had accumulate­d an amount of `28 crore from persons known to him, including his own money, and colluded with 12 other accused to exchange the amounts in the wake of demonetisa­tion.

Again, on January 16, the accused on behalf of three firms, Musaddilal Gems and Jewellers, Musaddilal Jewellers and Vaishanvi Bullion Private Limited, submitted retraction affidavits.

In his retraction affidavit to the I-T department, Nitin Gupta had said, “We have informed you in the previous affidavit (December 30, 2016) that we are going to get covered under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana since we were given strong assurance that such a course of action will protect us from criminal prosecutio­n and Prevention of Money Laundering Act investigat­ion ... In that context we have stated that the money belongs to us...Even after nearly one month we are subjected to enquiry and interrogat­ion by the Police and Enforcemen­t Direc torate...It is only under pressure and mis representa­tion by the police/ED/IT we have submitted to get covered under the scheme...We have given affidavit without understand­ing the consequenc­e flowing therefrom and also in haste...In a confused state of mind we have deposited a sum of Rs 1.00 crore towards the part payment under the scheme which we requested to refund or adjust in future.”

CCS alleged that it is suspected that the CCTV footage was erased by the management in an effort to detroy evidence.

In the counter affidavit CCS said that “Nitin and Nikhil Gupta are blackmaili­ng the investigat­ion agency by saying that they will commit suicide and leave behind a suicide note mentioning the names of officers if investigat­ion is carried out. General diary entries have been made at CCS to this effect.”

The IT department in a affidavit said that this is a unique case in India where advances were taken without stocks of bullion. The ED has begun identifica­tion of properties of the accused.

Meanwhile, CCS has served notices to several jewellers like Tribhuvand­as and P. Satyanaray­ana and Sons for info following the confession of the Mussadilal accused.

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