ED files chargesheet against 14 people

THE ED HAD TAKEN OVER THE PROBE AFTER THE CBI REGISTERED AN FIR AGAINST THE PRIME ACCUSED AND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS UNDER THE PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT

JALANDHAR: The enforcement directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against 14 people, including prime accused Vikram Seth and seven members of his family, in the ₹24-crore Bank of Baroda loan fraud case registered in 2015 in Chandigarh, at a special PMLA court, Mohali. The next date of hearing has been fixed for October 14.

The ED has charged the accused for money laundering. The charge sheet says the accused invested the loan amount to purchase new properties and repay their previous loans. A top ED official said the agency was still probing the role of more private people as the proceeds of the crime are increasing.

In July 26, 2021, the ED had arrested Vikram Seth from Phagwara and he is currently in judicial custody. The ED had taken over the probe after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against Vikram Seth and his family members under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at its zonal office in Jalandhar.

The enforcement directorate said the CBI investigations revealed that Seth, in connivance with other accused and officials of Bank of Baroda, fraudulently got sanctioned 19 loans totalling ₹24 crore and the money was routed through various accounts of associated firms.

In May 2020, the ED had attached 42 immovable and seven movable properties worth ₹18.5 crore belonging to the Seth family in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

The attached assets consisted of 20 residential plots, six industrial plots, one house, three tracts of agricultural land, two brick kilns and 10 commercial plots located in Phagwara and Banga areas of Punjab, and Una district of Himachal Pradesh. The seven movable assets attached included three luxury vehicles worth ₹33 lakh.