Panchkula, Aug. 7 -- The former deputy vice president of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Pushpinder Singh, bought several luxury cars after siphoning off crores of rupees from the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated in its chargesheet against nine accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a local court. The action stems from the multi-crore Kotak Mahindra Bank fraud case, in which the ED is probing the laundering of Rs.107.24 crore allegedly siphoned off from the Panchkula MC through unauthorised bank accounts. The agency has attached assets worth Rs.131.13 crore, claiming to have secured 100% of the embezzled civic funds within four months of the FIR registration. According to the ED, the investigation revealed that Pushpinder Singh, then deputy vice president of Kotak Mahindra Bank, in connivance with MC official Vikas Kaushik and bank employee Dilip Raghav, opened two unauthorised bank accounts in the name of the civic body using forged documents and fake authorisation letters. Funds from the corporation's accounts were allegedly diverted into these accounts by bypassing the bank's standard operating procedures. The agency alleged that mobile numbers and email IDs linked to both the fake and genuine MC accounts were altered to those controlled by the accused, allowing fraudulent transactions to be executed without triggering the bank's internal checks. The siphoned money was allegedly layered through several intermediaries, including Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar, Kapil Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Sonia, besides firms such as SK Agrotech and SK Agrofirm, before being routed into personal accounts and investments. The ED claimed that Pushpinder Singh used the proceeds of crime to acquire luxury assets, including a Porsche Cayenne, a BMW 740Li, a BMW X7, a BMW Z4, a Toyota Land Cruiser, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and Jeep Wrangler SUVs. Investigators also alleged that after the fraud surfaced, he sold some vehicles and transferred Sector-2 properties in Panchkula to his sister through funds routed via a company owned by his wife, Preeti Thakur, in an attempt to conceal ownership and prevent attachment. The investigation further found that part of the allegedly diverted money was advanced as unsecured loans to individuals and private entities at an interest rate of 3% per month in cash. The ED also alleged a sharp rise in the income of Pushpinder Singh's wife and the turnover of her company, M/s Chaudhary & Sethi Legal Advisory Pvt. Ltd., during the period of the alleged offence. Under a provisional attachment order, the ED has attached bank balances worth Rs.12.85 crore and immovable properties valued at Rs.118.28 crore, taking the total attachment to Rs.131.13 crore. The prosecution complaint has been filed against nine accused under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA. The ED said further investigation into the money trail and the involvement of other persons is continuing....