New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against six people before a Special PMLA court in Bengaluru in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to gold loan scam.
Those charge-sheeted are: T.L. Praveen Kumar, Branch Manager of Bank of Baroda, S.K. Subramanaya Reddy, R. Ranganath, Narasimha Murthy K, Santha Kumari K and R. Kavitha.
The court has taken cognisance of the ED’s prosecution complaint.
A money laundering investigation was launched on the basis of the FIR registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Bengaluru under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).
Investigation by ED revealed that Kumar while working as a senior manager and branch head, Bank of Baroda, during the period 2017 to 2018 in collusion with Reddy and others had sanctioned 186 gold loans against the pledge of spurious gold ornaments to 57 borrowers with a mala-fide intention, by deviating from the extant guidelines of the Bank and caused wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 19.03 crore.
These borrowers were found to be relatives, friends and employees of Reddy.
The accused transferred the gold loan money received in the respective gold loan accounts to a personal account held in his name and in the name of his family members. Thus layering the proceeds of the crime was confirmed.
The spurious gold loan amount was used for their personal gains and for the gain of their accomplices and thereby generated proceeds of crime and laundered by way of acquiring/possessing immovable properties from the said proceeds of crime.
Earlier in the case, immovable properties of Rs 4.83 crore were provisionally attached.
Further investigation in the matter is on.
