ED attaches assets worth Rs 61 cr of ex-promoters of Bhushan Steel

New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Tuesday that it has attached assets worth Rs 61.38 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into siphoning of public funds from Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL), Bhushan Energy Limited (BEL) and others.

According to the ED, the attached assets consist of agricultural land in Raigad, Maharashtra, and warehouses in entities under the control of erstwhile promoters of BSL -- Neeraj Singal and B.B. Singal.

On August 16, 2019, the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) had filed a complaint under various provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 against Bhushan Steel Limited, Bhushan Energy Limited, and others involving siphoning of public funds.

The accused Singals had diverted funds from BSL through an elaborate and complex web of transactions by way of routing of public funds in the garb of unsecured loans given by Bhushan Energy Limited to their associate companies, which were ultimately utilised for the acquisition of various immovable properties, the ED said.

The Federal agency said that the elaborate and complex web of transactions was structured to protect these assets as 'untainted.'

Further investigation is in progress.