bank The strictness against those who do not repay after taking loan has increased. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is confiscating the property of loan defaulters and returning it to the banks. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has ‘returned’ assets worth over Rs 185 crore to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI). In this case, the pharmaceutical company of Chandigarh had allegedly committed fraud through loan fraud. This matter is related to Surya Pharmaceutical Ltd. The company is currently going through liquidation process. Its directors and promoters include Rajiv Goyal and Alka Goyal. These people caused a ‘loss’ of Rs 828.50 crore to the banks by committing fraud.
Took loan using fake documents
Taking cognizance of the CBI FIR, the ED registered a criminal case against the accused company and its promoters. The agency said in the statement that the company obtained the loan by using fake documents. Fake documents like challan, transport details, freight receipt etc. were used for issuing Inland Letters of Credit (ILC). Later Surya Pharmaceutical misappropriated the money using group companies and shell entities. According to the statement, this resulted in a loss of Rs 828.50 crore to the SBI-led group of banks. After committing this alleged fraud, the promoters (Rajeev Goyal and Alka Goyal) fled the country. A Chandigarh court declared him a ‘fugitive criminal’ on July 10, 2017. The ED started its investigation and attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 185.13 crore of the accused in October, 2022. The investigating agency filed the charge sheet in the case on April 4.
Help received from NCLT
The investigating agency said it held meetings with the concerned banks and the liquidator appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in this case and helped them file a petition for return of the banks’ assets before the special court. The agency said the court issued an order on October 25. In this, due to the accused being declared ‘fugitive offenders’ as per Section 8(7) of PMLA, the group of lending banks were allowed to return the attached properties through the official liquidator.
