Money Laundering Probe Linked To Bank Loan Fraud Case: ED Raids Pharma Company, Promoters

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday carried out raids at several premises of Chandigarh-based pharmaceutical company Parabolic Drugs and its promoters as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud case.

They stated that, searches by the central agency covered a total of 17 premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ambala in Haryana.

The sources stated that the action is being undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the ED case stems from a 2021 CBI FIR against the company and its promoters Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta among others.

As per the sources, the agency, is also looking at some documents from Sonepat-based Ashoka University as 2 directors of the company, Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta, have been associated with the educational institution in the past.

The 2 had stepped down from all the boards and committees of the university in 2022, days after the CBI action.

The institute had then denied any link to the case.

The CBI booked the top executives of the company in December, 2021 for allegedly defrauding a consortium led by Central Bank of India of Rs 1626.74 crore. It subsequently raided their premises also.

Besides company’s Managing Director Paranav Gupta, the CBI booked company directors Vineet Gupta, Deepali Gupta, Rama Gupta, Jagjit Singh Chahal, Sanjeev Kumar, Vandana Singla, Ishrat Gill, and its guarantors TN Goyal and Nirmal Bansal, and one JD Gupta.

The university had then stated that it has nothing to do with the CBI probe involving Parabolic Drugs Limited and its directors, and any attempt to create a link is “frivolous & misleading”.

According to CBI officials, the private company was engaged in manufacturing drugs and allegedly defrauded the consortium of banks through criminal conspiracy and forgery, and funnelled loans it took for other uses.