Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached more than Rs. 18,000 crore worth assets of three fugitives, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi. Out of this, around Rs. 9,370 crore of seized assets have been transferred to the Banks.
The number is significant as it amounts to 80 per cent of the total losses to the banks. The amount has been transferred to the Public sector banks under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier this week, Purvi Modi, Nirav Modi's sister remitted an amount of $2,316,889.03 from the UK Bank account to the bank account of the Directorate of Enforcement. Further, Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached movable & immovable properties worth Rs. 8.79 Crore under PMLA in Sandesara Group case.
As of the last week of June, the debts recovery tribunal (DRT) had auctioned shares in United Breweries Limited (UBL) worth over Rs 5,800 crore that had been attached under the anti-money laundering statute as part of an alleged bank fraud probe against fugitive booze baron Vijay Mallya.
By selling the shares earlier with the help of the ED, public sector banks were able to recoup Rs 1,357 crore in losses. Thus, by the end of June, the banks will have realized a total of Rs 7,981.5 crore through the sale of a portion of assets that have been attached or confiscated by the ED under the provisions of the PMLA.
"The Directorate of Enforcement has taken swift action by unearthing the myriad web of domestic and international transactions and stashing of assets abroad. The investigation has also irrevocably proved that these three accused persons used dummy entities controlled by them for rotation and siphoning off the funds provided by the banks," said one of the officials.
