Bank fraud: ED to attach Indore firm’s 1,280-acre land in California

INDORE/AHMEDABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has order the attachment of 1,280 acres in California, USA, apparently bought by an Indore-based company with money siphoned off from banks in India.

The land, valued at ` 1,000 crore, was bought by Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd, which is under the scanner in a multicrore bank loan fraud. The real estate company has been accused of taking more than ` 2,600 crore from several banks and defaulting on payment.

The ED’s Indore unit arrested a company executive after registering a case of money laundering against Zoom Developers and its owner, Vijay Chaudhary, who is on the run.

Zoom Developers was named the second biggest bank fraud in the country by Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, who had written to the prime minister’s office seeking urgent action on the banking fraud. The CBI is already probing the case.

The loans were taken for a proposed project in Europe, but never executed.

Sources said the US property was never disclosed by Zoom Developers, either in tax papers or in the book of accounts.

This would be second instance of the ED attaching immovable assets abroad. In August 2013, a Gurgaon-based doctor’s Australian property was attached following investigation that he involved in an illegal kidney transplant racket.

A special court handling cases under Prevention of Money Laundering Act had issued the Letter Rogatory to Australia for execution of the attachment.

India and the US have an agreement, which enables courts here to issue a letter rogatory to the American authorities to attach property of Indians.