ED attaches assets worth Rs 20.31 cr in loan fraud case

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Monday that it has attached immovable assets worth Rs 20.31 crore belonging to Mada Subrahmanyam, Mada Srinivasa Rao, Ganduri Mallikharjuna Rao, Eluri Prasada Rao, their family members and firms in a case related to fraudulent loans obtained from the IDBI Bank's Guntur branch in Andhra Pradesh.

The ED had initiated probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of four FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the aforesaid persons and others for fraudulently availing Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans from IDBI Bank for fish farming.

The investigation revealed that the accused conspired with Chandra Sekhar Harish Chennappagari, the then manager of the IDBI Bank's Guntur branch, to commit the fraud.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, the said aggregators fraudulently availed Kisan Credit Card loans totaling to Rs 57.10 crore from IDBI Bank for fish farming in the names of 247 borrowers, who were their family members, employees and persons known to them, by giving their properties as collateral securities and misappropriated the loans sanctioned to the borrowers.

The ED also learnt that part of the proceeds of crime (loan amounts sanctioned to the borrowers) was utilised by the accused for purchasing several immovable properties in their names and in the names of other persons known to them.

"A total of 47 immovable properties having a market value of Rs 20.31 crore, which were acquired by the accused and the then bank Manager using the proceeds of crime, have been attached under PMLA," said an ED official.