The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said that it has attached assets, including land, windmills, silver and diamond jewelry, and bullion, with a total worth exceeding Rs 315 crore in connection with an alleged bank fraud-linked money laundering investigation involving a former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Member of Parliament (MP) from Maharashtra, his family, and their businesses.
Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani, a 77-year-old former Rajya Sabha MP from the NCP, serves as the promoter for entities such as Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Pvt Ltd, R L Gold Pvt Ltd, and Manraj Jewellers, among others.
According to a statement from the federal agency, a provisional order was issued on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to attach 70 immovable assets located in Jalgaon, Mumbai, Thane, Sillod (in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra), and Kutch (Gujarat), as well as windmills, silver and diamond jewelry, bullion, and Indian currency valued at a total of Rs 315.60 crore. These actions are related to the bank fraud case involving Rajmal Lakhichand Jewelers Pvt. Ltd., R L Gold Pvt. Ltd., Manraj Jewellers Pvt. Ltd, and others. The ED has alleged that these assets include properties acquired by the promoters, including Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani and Manish Ishwarlal Jain Lalwani, among others.
The case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act originated from three FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which alleged that these companies, along with their directors and promoters, caused a wrongful loss of over Rs 352.49 crore to the State Bank of India. The ED further alleged that the promoters submitted “fake” financials to secure these loans. They also engaged in round-tripping of transactions to inflate the financials and recorded bogus sale-purchase transactions in the books of the accused companies to divert loan proceeds for real estate investments, often in collaboration with the companies’ auditors.
In August, the ED conducted raids related to this case, during which various discrepancies, including bogus sale-purchase transactions within the books of the primary holding company, Rajmal Lakhichand Jalgaon partnership firm, were identified.
