The Enforcement Directorate (ED), investigating money laundering allegations in a bank fraud case, has provisionally attached 70 immovable properties at various locations in Maharashtra and Gujarat, as well as movable assets such as silver and diamond jewelry, with a combined value of Rs 315.6 crore.
These attached assets include properties acquired under benami names by former NCP MP and ex-treasurer Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani, his son Manish Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani, and others. These assets are situated in several locations, including Mumbai, Thane, Jalgaon, Sillod (Aurangabad), and Kutch. Additionally, movable assets like windmills, silver and diamond jewelry, bullion, and Indian currency were also attached.
This attachment is part of a bank fraud case involving Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Pvt Ltd, R L Gold Pvt Ltd, Manraj Jewellers Pvt Ltd, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as per an ED press release. The ED’s investigations began based on three FIRs registered by the CBI under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), alleging that the companies and their directors/promoters were involved in criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and criminal misconduct, leading to a wrongful loss of over Rs 352.49 crore to the State Bank of India.
During the investigation, the ED discovered that the promoters had submitted false financials to obtain loans. They were also involved in “round-tripping” transactions to inflate financials and falsely record sale-purchase transactions in the books of accounts of the accused companies to divert loan proceeds for real estate investments, in collusion with the company’s auditors. Previously, the ED had conducted search operations at 13 official and residential premises of the Rajmal Lakhichand group in Jalgaon, Nashik, and Thane, seizing gold, silver and diamond jewelry, cash, and various incriminating documents. Investigative findings revealed fictitious stock/missing stock inventories of bullion and gold jewelry in books, the use of shell companies, and the employment of dummy directors.
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