ED Attaches Assets of Atlas Jewellery Under PMLA for defrauding South Indian Bank

In the bank fraud case against M/s. Atlas Jewellery Private Limited, M.M. Ramachandran, Indira Ramachandran & Others, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 57.45 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Gold, silver, and diamond jewelry, silver goods, bank accounts, bank fixed deposits, and immovable properties are examples of attached assets.

On the basis of an F.I.R. filed by the Kerala Police against M/s. Atlas Jewellery, M.M. Ramachandran, and Indira Ramachandran for defrauding South Indian Bank, Round South Branch, Thrissur, Kerala, the ED launched a money-laundering investigation.

An investigation into money laundering found that the suspects defrauded South Indian Bank, Round South Branch, Thrissur, Kerala, between March 21, 2013 and September 26, 2018. They plotted and provided falsified documents to the bank in order to obtain a loan worth Rs. 242.40 Crore for business reasons, and they have not repaid the money, which is nothing more than criminal proceeds.

Earlier, based on information gathered from a reliable source that M.M. Ramachandran had invested Rs. 100 crore in M/s. Atlas Jewellery India Limited (AJIL), New Delhi, and another Rs. 14 crores in an Escrow Account with Axis Bank, New Delhi, the ED had conducted search operations at M/s. Atlas Jewellery India Limited (AJIL) business premises and bank lockers in Mumbai and Bengaluru under the PMLA, 2002, resulting in the

Further investigation is in progress.