ED conduct raids in DPIL money- laundering case

◗ Raids were conducted at 7 places in the Vadodara district and the premises of the firm — Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd ( DPIL) — and its executives

The Enforcement Directorate ( ED) on Monday conducted multiple searches in connection with a money laundering case against a Vadodara-based company for allegedly cheating various banks to the tune of ` 2,654 crore.

Sources said raids were conducted at seven places in the Vadodara district and the premises of the firm — Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd ( DPIL) — and its executives. The corporate office of the company in Gorwa area of the city, factories in Vadadala and Ranoli and residential premises of its executives in Nizampura and New Alkapuri were covered as part of the action, they said. Though the raids continued throughout the day, the company promoters were not found anywhere for questioning, said a senior ED official.

The agency has also asked at least 31 companies, that had placed orders with the firm, to not make any payments and desist from conducting any transactions. The agency has also seized documents related to movable and immovable assets of the promoters of the firm, they said.

The ED carried out the searches after it filed a criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act ( PMLA) against the company, based on a recent CBI FIR. The CBI had conducted raids in the case last week.

The ED is probing if the alleged defaulted loans were laundered to create illegal assets and black money by the accused.

The CBI had alleged that DPIL, which manufactures electric cables and equipment, is promoted by S. N. Bhatnagar and his sons Amit Bhatnagar and Sumit Bhatnagar, who were also the executives of the firm. It is alleged that DPIL, through its management, had fraudulently availed credit facilities from a consortium of 11 banks ( both public and private) since 2008, leaving behind an outstanding debit of ` 2,654.40 crore as on June 29, 2016, the CBI said.