ED conducted searches at residences of officers of NSIC & erstwhile UBI for 173.50 cr loss

ED conducted searches at residences of officers of NSIC & erstwhile UBI for 173.50 cr loss The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Government of India seized fixed deposits worth Rs 1.04 crore after conducting searches at the residences of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) officials and former United Bank of India workers in a fraud case. Manik Lal Das (the then Zonal and Deputy General Manager of NSIC), Gopinath Bhattacharya (the then DGM of NSIC), Jayanta Das (the then Marketing Manager of NSIC), Manik Mohan Mishra (the then Manager, UBI), and Pradeep Kumar Gangopadhyay's residences were searched (the then Manager of UBI). Debabrata Haldar, a West Bengal native, was recently detained by the Enforcement Directorate for cheating the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) of Rs 173.50 crore. The ED raid is in connection with a complaint filed against Sudhangshu Kumar Halder and others for allegedly defrauding the National Small Industries Corporation of Rs 173.50 crore (NSIC). The ED had previously confiscated a Toyota Fortuner, a Toyota Corola Altis, Rs 50 lakh in cash, and jewellery worth Rs 18.4 lakhs during a search operation. The ED also frozen an amount of Rs 3.95 crore in the bank accounts of connected bogus MSME enterprises under the PMLA. https://twitter.com/dir_ed/status/1468889326071152643?s=20 The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises manages the National Small Industries Corporation, which is a government of India enterprise (MSME). The National Small and Medium Firms Council (NSIC) has been working to promote, assist, and support the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country. The money laundering inquiry was started by the ED after the West Bengal Police filed a FIR. The investigation is into a total loss of Rs 173.50 crore to NSIC lent under its Raw Material Assistance Scheme (RMA Scheme) through criminal conspiracy by submitting Bank Guarantees (BGs) of other unrelated entities and fake BGs purportedly issued by various branches of the erstwhile United Bank of India, Kolkata, which came to light when NSIC enforced them. NSIC monies were allegedly laundered and routed through the accounts of several phoney supplier firms established through the RMA Scheme. A RMA system has been developed to provide credit to a variety of needy MSME businesses. "During the inquiry, it was discovered that Debabrata Haldar, one of the scam's primary perpetrators, worked as a middleman and the scam's principal benefactor." "Out of the profits of crime, the accused has acquired different movable and immovable properties," the ED stated.