NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is carrying out searches at over 26 locations across the country in connection with the Rs 22,842 crore ABG Shipyard case, sources said on Tuesday.
An ED source related to the probe told The New Indian, that the financial probe agency is conducting searches in Mumbai, Pune and Surat in connection with its money laundering probe into one of the country’s biggest bank frauds.
Surat-based ABG Shipyard and its former promoters are accused of duping a consortium of 28 banks to the tune of Rs 22,842 crore.
About 24 locations in Mumbai and one each in Pune and Surat have been covered, said the source.
Earlier this month, the federal agency had questioned the shipping firm’s former chairman Rishi Agrawal.
The ED is looking into the alleged “diversion” of bank loan funds, the creation of shell firms to launder the public money and the role of the executives of the company and others.
The ED case has been filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of the CBI case and the forensic audit report, the source said.
ABG is accused of cheating a consortium of 28 banks led by ICICI Bank, with ICICI having the highest exposure of Rs 7,089 crore, followed by IDBI Bank (Rs 3,639 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 2,925 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 1,614 crore) and Punjab National Bank (Rs 1,244 crore).