The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kochi, has provisionally attached movable/immovable properties to the tune of ₹6.41 crore belonging to Sandhya cashew factory in Pathanamthitta and three former officials of the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) as part of a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency had initiated investigation on the basis of a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Retnamma, proprietor of the firm in Pathanamthitta, her son Sarath Chandran, and three former officials of the bank, according to a release.
Overvaluation
As per the chargesheet filed by the CBI, Ms. Retnamma and her son had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with B. Sasidharan, Gopala Krishnan, and Manoj M, senior managers of the bank during the period from August 2009 to May 2014, with the wrongful intention of cheating Indian Overseas Bank, Adoor, by allowing credit facilities in the name of the factory by overvaluing the mortgaged securities.
Mr. Chandran had availed himself of the said limits by submitting false and forged documents. He diverted the funds for purposes other than the ones for which the loan was sanctioned. They also failed to clear the outstanding amounts against their various loan accounts causing loss to the tune of ₹28.7 crore to the bank. The probe revealed that the wrongfully diverted funds were layered in the form of bank accounts, securities, and purchase of properties.
