ED arrests 2 directors of Tamil Nadu firm in bank loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has arrested two directors of a Tamil Nadu-based company in an alleged money laundering case worth Rs 325 crore linked to a bank fraud case.

Hittesh Patel and Suresh N Patel, directors of Shinago Plantations Pvt Ltd, were sent to 10 days ED custody by a special court on Saturday after they were placed under arrest under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said in a statement.

The two allegedly laundered funds to the tune of Rs 325 crore by using a network of nearly 20 group entities located across Tamil Nadu.


The probe found that the accused "in collusion with the valuers availed loans from erstwhile Corporation Bank (now Union Bank of India) on the basis of inflated value of the properties offered as collateral and indulged in wilful diversion of funds through various group accounts."

"The funds so availed by various individuals/group concerns, in the form of Letters of Credit (LC), cash credit (CC) limits and agriculture term loans, were transferred within the group entities through circular rotation of money to avail more funds from the bank without any actual business," the agency claimed.