News Analysis India

Tag: Shakti Bhog

  • ED files fresh chargesheet in Shakti Bhog money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh chargesheet against two operatives, who allegedly provided fake business entries, in connection with its money laundering probe against Shakti Bhog foods company in an alleged over Rs 3,269 crore bank loan fraud case.

    The agency, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the prosecution complaint has been filed against Ashok Kumar Goel and Devki Nandan Garg before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here.

    It charged the two, arrested by the ED in September, for having an “active involvement in the offence of money laundering in bank fraud of Rs 3269.42 crore by Shakti Bhog Foods Limited (SBFL).” The agency accused Goel and Garg of “assisting Shakti Bhog Foods Limited and its directors in generation, acquisition, layering and siphoning off its loans funds through shell companies under their disposal”.

    “They were actively involved in providing fake bills to the company without actual business transactions,” it said in the chargesheet. These fake bills, it alleged, “Facilitated inflated stock, turnover and purchase/sale of SBFL to enable it to secure enhanced credit facilities from consortium banks on the basis of this inflated financial reports.” It said the two were “beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime.” The money laundering case against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited was filed after studying a CBI FIR that charged it and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

    The agency had also arrested the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Shakti Bhog Foods Limited K K Sharma and a chartered accountant (CA) named Raman Bhuraria in this case.

    It has attached assets worth over Rs 98 crore and filed its first chargesheet sometime back against the company, Kumar, Bhuraria and others.

    The CBI FIR against the company and its promoters came about after the State Bank of India (SBI) registered a complaint against the company.

    According to the SBI, the directors allegedly falsified accounts and forged documents to siphon off public funds.

    The 24-year-old company, which is into manufacturing and selling wheat, flour, rice, biscuits, cookies, etc, had grown organically as it ventured into food-related diversification over a decade with a turnover growth of Rs 1,411 crore in 2008 to Rs 6,000 crore in 2014, the bank complaint had said.

  • Enforcement Directorate arrests two in Shakti Bhog bank loan fraud PMLA case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has arrested two operatives, who allegedly provided fake business entries, in connection with its probe into money laundering charges against Shakti Bhog food company in an alleged over Rs 3,269 crore bank fraud case.

    The arrests came after the agency raided over a dozen premises in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on September 17.

    “Accommodation entry providers Ashok Kumar Goel and Devki Nandan Garg were arrested from Delhi,” the agency said in a statement, adding Goel was arrested on September 20 and Garg the next day under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

    It said a local court had earlier sent Goel and Garg in ED till custody till Friday and it has now been extended for five more days.

    “During searches, various incriminating documents and digital evidence have been traced and seized,” the ED claimed.

    It alleged that “Shakti Bhog Foods Limited had procured fake sale-purchase invoices from the dummy entities under the command and control of Ashok Kumar Goel and Devki Nandan Garg without having any genuine business transactions”.

    “They acquired the proceeds of crime and assisted Shakti Bhog Foods Limited in generation, acquisition, layering and siphoning off its loans funds,” it said.

    The agency had earlier arrested the chairman and managing director of Shakti Bhog Foods Limited K K Sharma and a chartered accountant named Raman Bhuraria in this case.

    The ED’s money laundering case against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited was filed after studying a CBI FIR that charged it and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

    The CBI FIR came about after the State Bank of India (SBI) registered a complaint against the company.

    According to the SBI, the directors allegedly falsified accounts and forged documents to siphon off public funds.

    The 24-year-old company, which is into manufacturing and selling wheat, flour, rice, biscuits, cookies and others, had grown organically as it ventured into food-related diversification over a decade with a turnover growth of Rs 1,411 crore in 2008 to Rs 6,000 crore in 2014, the bank complaint had said.