Bank fraud: ED attaches Kolkata firm’s assets worth Rs 42 crore

New Delhi, Nov 23: The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 42 crore of a Kolkata based company, Shree Mahalaxmi Corporation Pvt Ltd. The ED has accused the company of defrauding the State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 164 crore.

The attached assets include 11 immovable properties that belong to the directors of the firm. The ED initiated a money laundering probe based on an FIR filed by the CBI in 2017. The loan amount of Rs 164 crore was allegedly diverted after it was rotated among multiple banks, which were made to look like genuine business transactions.

"It was further revealed that various letters of credit (LCs) were opened in the name of certain companies against the credit facilities and the same were discounted on the basis of forged invoices, challans etc. The LC proceeds were thereafter laundered and siphoned off," a statement by the Enforcement Directorate read.