ED attaches assets worth Rs 2.14 cr in Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd money laundering case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, has provisionally attached various immovable and movable properties worth Rs. 2.14 Crore of Devki Nandan Garg, Ashok Kumar Goel, Mahesh Kumar, Devender Kumar & other entry operators, and R.N. Saraf and Ramesh Goyal, Chartered Accountants of Devki Nandan Garg in the case of Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd. (SBFL). The entry operators helped Shakti Bhog Foods Limited commit loan fraud with a consortium of ten banks led by the State Bank of India by providing fraudulent invoices.

On the basis of an FIR filed by the CBI against M/s Shakti Bhog Foods Limited and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct culminating in a bank fraud of Rs. 3269.42 crore, the ED launched a money-laundering probe. Without having any legitimate commercial transactions, Shakti Bhog Foods Limited purchased phoney purchase-sale bills from dummy organisations under the command and control of Ashok Kumar Goel, Devki Nandan Garg, Mahesh Kumar, Devender Kumar, and other entry operators. R.N. Saraf and Ramesh Goyal, Chartered Accountants, were actively supporting Devki Nandan Garg, an entry operator, in legalising his unlawful accommodation entries. These individuals also received proceeds of crime in the form of commission and fee, according to the investigation. With their help and cooperation, Shakti Bhog Foods Limited committed money laundering, including the generation, purchase, layering, and syphoning off of its loan funds.

More research is being carried out. ED searched various locations during the investigation and arrested Kewal Krishan Kumar, CMD Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd. on 04.07.2021, Raman Bhuraria, CA on 13.08.2021, Ashok Kumar Goel and Devki Nandan Garg, entry operators on 20.09.2021 and 21.09.2021, respectively, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Judicial custody has been imposed on Kewal Krishan Kumar, Raman Bhuraria, and Ashok Kumar Goel, while Devki Nandan Garg has been granted temporary bail on medical grounds. Prosecution complaints have been filed against all of these individuals, and the Hon’ble Special Court has also taken cognizance of the offence.

Previously, the ED had attached various immovable and moveable properties of the accused persons with a book value of over Rs. 98.3 crore through provisional attachment orders. The entire attachment in the case is Rs. 100.44 Crore, based on the current provisional attachment.