ED seals all borders for Kothari

A day after registering a case against Rotomac pen promoter Vikram Kothari and his family in connection with a case related to the alleged swindling of ` 3,695 crore of bank loan funds, the Enforcement Directorate ( ED) on Tuesday notified all land, sea and air ports to prevent the accused from leaving the country.

Sources in the ED said, “The agency has notified all land, sea, air ports to prevent possible exit of Rotomac promoter Vikram Kothari and his two family members”.

Kothari is being investigated by the CBI and the ED for an alleged fraud of Rs 3,695 crore.

According to sources the case against Kanpurbased Rotomac Global Pvt Limited, its director Vikram Kothari, his wife Sadhana Kothari, and son Rahul Kothari and unidentified bank officials was filed by the CBI on Monday on a complaint received from Bank of Baroda. Immediately after registering the case, agency sleuths also conducted searches at residence and office premises of the accused.

The ED also registered a money laundering case against Kothari and his family members on the basis of CBI’s FIR. The case was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act ( PMLA).

The ED, sources said, would probe if the funds obtained through the alleged fraud were laundered and if the proceeds of the crime were subsequently used by the accused to create illegal assets and black money.

This is the second major financial scam to break out after the sensational ` 11,400 crore fraud allegedly committed by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.