ED arrests two former IL&FS executives in PMLA probe

MUMBAI: Making its first arrest in the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) case, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Arun Saha and Karunakaran Ramchand. While Saha was the JT MD & CEO, IL&FS Ltd, Ramchand was MD, IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL).

Earlier, in February this year, the ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against 19 entities including ILFS Rail Ltd, ITNL, former IL&FS chairman and managing director Parthasarathy and former IL&FS director, Hari Sankaran. After registration of the offence, the agency conducted searches in Mumbai and Delhi.

“PMLA investigation has revealed Saha and Ramchand and also one of the members of CoD of IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN) were involved in various illegal activities detrimental to the IL&FS group. They were involved in sanctioning and disbursement of loan without taking proper security, to the Group which were already in financial distress and unable to pay earlier loan,” read the ED press release.


The ED claims that the arrested duo were also, ‘involved in routing indirectly the funds from IFIN to ITNL through the third party who were the contractors of ITNL, in flagrant violation of RBI norms’.

The two were placed under arrest by the ED sleuths as they were ‘not cooperating’ and were ‘evasive’ in their responses, the agency said.