PRAYAGRAJ, July 12 -- A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act, 2002, has taken cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) sub-zonal office Prayagraj's prosecution complaint in the alleged Rs 1,992-crore bank fraud and money laundering case involving JVL Agro Industries Limited. The court has directed proceedings against 25 individuals and entities, including the company, its promoters, and associated firms. In an order dated July 7, the special PMLA court judge Madhu Dogra took cognizance of offences punishable under Section 3 besides Sections 70 and 4 of the PMLA. The ED had filed its prosecution complaint on November 25, 2025. According to the ED, the investigation stems from an FIR and charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Lucknow. The agency alleged that JVL Agro Industries, controlled by promoter Satya Narayan Jhunjhunwala, diverted and misappropriated working capital loans obtained from banks through a network of shell companies allegedly operated by Anil Kumar Khemka, one of the accused. The ED claimed that funds were routed through several group companies, promoters and key officials before being reinvested into JVL Agro through preferential warrants and equity subscriptions. Investigators allege that the arrangement artificially increased the promoters' shareholding while concealing the actual source of funds. The agency alleged that the company manipulated its financial statements by carrying out sham transactions, inflating business turnover, tampering with inventory records, and suppressing foreign exchange losses. Based on these allegedly falsified financials, the company secured and enhanced credit facilities from a consortium of banks. As a result, the banks allegedly suffered losses of approximately Rs 1,992 crore, with the loan accounts eventually turning into non-performing assets (NPAs). During the investigation, the ED conducted searches at 13 locations under Section 17 of the PMLA. The agency recovered incriminating documents and digital evidence, recorded statements of accused persons and witnesses under Section 50 of the Act, and examined banking and corporate records. The ED stated that it has provisionally seized movable and immovable properties worth about Rs 1 crore. In addition, assets valued at Rs 878.67 crore have been attached under the provisions of the PMLA. The prosecution named JVL Agro Industries Limited, Satya Narayan Jhunjhunwala, Anil Kumar Khemka and several associated companies among the 25 accused. The communique stated that the investigation was continuing and further action would follow based on the findings. In 2019, the CBI had filed a case of bank fraud against Jhunjhunwala. The ED in 2024 registered a money laundering investigation based on this. Sources in the ED said the company consistently showed profit till 2017, but in 2018, the company showed cash loss of Rs 325.08 crore with negative net worth of the company. The company admitted that forex losses incurred during 2012-13 to 2015-16 were not accounted for in the books of accounts in the respective years fully and a large amount was carried over wrongly as vendor advances. Thus, the company had concealed the facts and misrepresented the profits and assets in its audited financials for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017....