ED raids 4 cities in probe against ex-minister’s son

Hilal Rather is under lens of probe agencies

NEWDELHI/LUDHIANA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted multiple raids in four cities in connection with a money laundering case linked to a bank fraud probe against Hilal Rather, the son of former Jammu and Kashmir minister Abdul Rahim Rather, officials said.

They said the raids were carried out at 16 locations in Kashmir, Jammu, Delhi and Ludhiana.

The exercise has been undertaken to collect evidence, they said.

The central probe agency has filed a money laundering case against Hilal Rather and others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and Income Tax Department probe against him that pertains to a Rs 177-crore alleged bank fraud.

The Central Bureau of Investigation

AN ED OFFICIAL SAID THE RAIDS WERE CONDUCTED AT 16 LOCATIONS IN J&K, LUDHIANA, DELHI

has alleged that Hilal Rather entered into a criminal conspiracy with the then officials of the J&K Bank to get loans of about Rs 177.68 crore in alleged violation of rules and guidelines.

His father, a former finance minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, is a National Conference (NC) leader. “The loans that were sanctioned for construction of flats were allegedly diverted and misappropriated by the accused using the bank accounts of his employees,” the Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged.

LUDHIANA BIZMAN’S HOUSE SEARCHED

The teams of ED carried out searches at the office and residences of a Ludhiana industrialist to check the business dealings with Hilal Rather who is booked in a multi-core bank fraud case.

The teams initially conducted searches at the businessman’s house in Sarabha Nagar and thereafter visited the factory unit located near Katani Chowk on Ludhiana-chandigarh expressway and seized some documents from the premises.

The team reportedly also visited the local J&K Bank Branch to collect some documents.

The ED team from Jalandhar had also joined the raid to exert pressure on the industrialist.

It was also stated that Hilal had routed the loan amount procured from J&K Bank in the Ludhiana-based company.

The teams were here to investigate the routing of ₹58 crore in lieu of constructing 400 apartments.