India, July 24 -- The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab as part of a money laundering investigation into a Rs 450-crore bank loan fraud case, officials said. They said the Lucknow zonal office of the central agency raided eight premises in the national capital and the two states as part of the probe against a company identified as Santosh Overseas Ltd., its promoters and linked entities. The action was conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED probe stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case relating to an alleged fraud involving a Rs 450 crore loan availed from a consortium of banks, the officials said. It is alleged by the ED that the loan funds were diverted and layered through a network of shell entities, accommodation entry operators (hawala dealers) and related companies by way of fake invoices and circular financial transactions.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.