ED attaches assets of Chennai firm worth Rs 113.32 cr in loan fraud case

The ED said it has attached 75 immovable properties including 67 windmills valued at Rs 113.32 crore belonging to Chennai-based Surana Group in connection with 3 cases of Rs 3,986 crore bank fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached 75 immovable properties including 67 windmills valued at Rs 113.32 crore belonging to the Chennai-based Surana Group of Companies in connection with three cases of Rs 3,986 crore bank fraud.

The ED had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of three FIRs filed by the CBI, Bengaluru against Surana Industries Limited, Surana Power Limited, Surana Corporation Limited and others.

The ED learnt during the investigation that these three companies of Surana Group had defrauded the banks by floating a web of shell companies wherein they appointed its employees, relatives as directors and proprietors, partners and indulged in paper transactions with them without actual movement of goods.

The ED also found in the investigation that Surana Group have companies in Cayman Islands as well as British Virgin Islands in the name of dummy directors and siphoned off money to park in those companies.

For this purpose, they established four companies in Singapore and exported goods to them and the money receivable from them were written off in the book of accounts in India.

Further, some of the diverted funds were used to purchase movable, immovable properties in the names of various benami companies.

These actions of the promoters of the Surana Group led to the accounts becoming irregular which ultimately led to accounts becoming NPA and leading to an amount of Rs 3,986 crore as the principal outstanding amount to the banks.

Based on the investigations conducted, Dinesh Chand Surana, MD of Surana Industries Limited and Surana Power Ltd, Vijay Raj Surana, MD of Surana Corporation Limited and two dummy directors of shell companies viz. P Anand and I Prabhakaran, were arrested on July 12.

During the course of Investigations, it was revealed that 67 windmills of Surana Group which were being auctioned by banks to recover their dues were again purchased in the name of one benami company.

--IANS

atk/pgh