Mumbai, July 25 (IANS) A Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai has ordered the restoration of attached immovable properties worth Rs 22.40 crore to bona fide legitimate claimants, according to an official statement issued on Saturday.
The order was passed by the Additional Sessions Judge on July 23.
The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Mumbai Zonal Office had initiated a money laundering investigation against Vinod Kumar Chaturvedi, Manoj Pathak and others for their alleged role in generating and laundering proceeds of crime.
The probe revealed that M/s Usher Agro Ltd., a company owned and controlled by Chaturvedi and Pathak, allegedly defrauded a consortium of banks of approximately Rs 916 crore by systematically siphoning off loan funds through a network of shell companies. The promoters allegedly used related group entities to route and divert the funds further.
As part of the investigation, the ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 22.40 crore in 2021. The attachment was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA.
The ED also filed a prosecution complaint for the offence of money laundering before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai, seeking confiscation of the attached properties as proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, initiated the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against M/s Usher Eco Power Ltd. Following the failure of the resolution process, liquidation proceedings were commenced.
Subsequently, the liquidator approached the Special PMLA Court seeking restoration of the attached property.
Considering the objective of the PMLA to restitute and restore proceeds of crime to bona fide legitimate claimants, the ED informed the court that it had no objection to the release of the attached assets.
Based on the ED’s submissions, the Additional Sessions Judge ordered the restitution of the attached immovable properties to the legitimate claimants on July 23.
According to the agency, the restoration of the properties marks a significant step in the ED’s efforts to ensure that proceeds of crime are ultimately returned to those affected by financial fraud.
–IANS
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