ED: RBL Bank VP was conduit of conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar
Two days after the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at multiple locations in connection with the PMLA case registered against conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, the agency, on Wednesday, said Komal Poddar, vice-president of RBL Bank was one of his conduit in handling the funds.
During a search on the residential premises of Komal Poddar, unexplained Indian currency to the tune of Rs 82.50 lakh and 2-kg gold bars have been seized. He has since been arrested by Delhi Police, said an ED release.
ED case was registered against unknown persons under various offences related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, extortion of money to the tune of Rs 200 crore approximately registered by the Special Cell, Delhi Police.
“Investigation under PMLA revealed that Sukesh Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has multiple FIRs against him and is presently lodged in a jail in Delhi. Despite being lodged in jail, Sukesh Chandrashekhar did not stop conning people. He, with a cellphone, procured illegally in the prisons and with the help of technology, made spoofed calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the call recipient’s phone showed them as belonging to senior government officers and he, while speaking (from the jail) to these persons, claimed to be a government officer offering to help them for a cut. Sukesh Chandrasekhar extorted money to the tune of Rs 200 crore in this manner,” the release said.
Accordingly, searches were conducted under PMLA on the premises of middlemen, Komal Poddar and associates of Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
Searches were also conducted on the residential and business premises of Leena Maria Paul, wife of Sukesh Chandrasekhar who is a small-time actress.
ED said the Kanathur beach house, off ECR Chennai where the searches were carried out, was a benami property of Sukesh and Leena. The house is a luxurious sea-facing bungalow with a home theatre and a fleet of cars and servants. Numerous shoes, shades, bags and clothes were also recovered during the searches. The shoes included those from renowned brands such as Ferragamo, Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton and bags of the same brands and Hermes. The rugs were Versace and floors that of Italian marble, apart from expensive furniture.
The searches resulted in the seizure of the luxurious sea-facing bungalow and 16 high-end luxury cars which includes Rolls Royce Ghost, Bentley Bentayga, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Urus, Escalade and Mercedes AMG 63, the release said.