The heat is on in Kolkata’s financial underworld as the Enforcement Directorate strikes again, detaining Pratyush Kumar Sureka in connection with a staggering bank loan fraud linked to a major jewelry house. This bold move by the ED highlights the agency’s relentless pursuit of economic offenders amid rising loan default cases.
Details emerging from the probe paint a picture of systematic deceit. The jewelry firm, a household name in Bengal’s gold market, allegedly manipulated financial statements to avail loans worth hundreds of crores from nationalized banks. Pratyush Sureka, a director in the company, is accused of masterminding the operation, diverting funds through layered transactions to evade detection.
ED sleuths, acting on credible intelligence, swooped down on Sureka’s upscale home in a late-night operation. The raid yielded incriminating ledgers, property deeds in benami names, and evidence of hawala transfers. Preliminary findings suggest the scam involved collusion with bank insiders, who overlooked red flags in loan appraisals.
Kolkata’s business community is abuzz with the news, as this scandal could tarnish the reputation of the entire jewelry trade, already reeling from GST compliance issues and gold smuggling rackets. The ED’s ongoing operations have frozen bank accounts worth Rs 300 crore and attached immovable properties linked to the accused.
As Sureka faces intense interrogation, the ED vows to dismantle the entire fraud syndicate. Legal experts predict this could lead to broader implications under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). With court granting custody, the coming days promise explosive revelations, reinforcing the narrative of zero tolerance for banking frauds in India’s eastern metropolis.
