ED Clamps Down on Cable Tycoon: ₹150-Crore Properties Attached in Deepak Cable Bank Fraud Probe
(Judicial Quest News Network)
New Delhi / Bengaluru, 6 August 2026 — In a major escalation of its money-laundering probe into an alleged consortium bank fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at ₹51.28 crore (with a current market valuation exceeding ₹150 crore) linked to M/s Deepak Cable (India) Ltd (DCIL), its promoters and associated entities.
The attachment order, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, marks the latest punitive step in a widening investigation that has already seen the arrest of DCIL Managing Director K. Venkateshwara Rao and the seizure of incriminating documents, digital devices and financial records during multi-location searches.enforcementdirectorate.gov
CBI FIR Triggers PMLA Probe into “Structured” Loan Fraud
The ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office initiated its money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI’s Banking Securities & Fraud Branch (BS&FB), Bengaluru, alleging a elaborate scheme of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and use of forged documents that caused wrongful loss to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India
According to the ED, DCIL and its promoters fraudulently obtained multiple credit facilities by submitting:
Manipulated financial statements
Inflated stock statements
False debtor statements
to secure loans far in excess of what their true financial position would justify.
Layering Through a Web of “Related” Companies
The investigation further established that loan proceeds were diverted and siphoned off through a network of related and connected entities, including:
M/s Surya Transmission Ltd.
M/s Adhunik Power Transmission Ltd.
M/s Dandeli Ferro Pvt. Ltd.
M/s Sharavathy Conductors Pvt. Ltd.
M/s Venkatesh Industries
M/s Maruthi Engineering Works
M/s Universal Transmission Line Products
M/s KGN Electricals
and other associated firms.
The ED alleges that these entities were used to create fictitious sale and purchase transactions without any actual movement of goods, thereby laundering the loan funds through multiple layers before they were ultimately deployed for purposes unrelated to the sanctioned loan objects.
Among the identified misuses were:
Buy-back of equity shares from private equity investors through related entities
Acquisition of assets not linked to the original business purpose of the loansap
Searches, Seizures and Arrest Precede Attachment
Earlier in the investigation, the ED conducted searches under Section 17 of the PMLA at multiple premises connected with the accused persons and their associates. During these operations, the agency seized:
Incriminating documents and records
Digital devices containing financial data
Cash and gold jewellery (in earlier raids, reportedly worth over ₹1.27 crore in cash and jewellery, with bank balances of around ₹18 crore frozen)
On 2 June 2026, the ED arrested K. Venkateshwara Rao under Section 19 of the PMLA, producing him before the Special Court, Bengaluru, which granted the agency 10 days of custody for further interrogation.
Statements of several accused persons, bank officials and other witnesses were recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA as part of the ongoing inquiry.
“Equivalent Value” Properties Attached to Secure Proceeds of Crime
The latest provisional attachment order targets properties that the ED says were either:
Directly acquired from the proceeds of crime, or
Held as equivalent-value assets in the names of the accused, their family members and connected entities.
The ED noted that a substantial portion of the alleged proceeds of crime had been layered, diverted or could not be directly traced. To prevent frustration of future confiscation proceedings, the agency invoked the PMLA’s “equivalent value” attachment provision, allowing it to attach substitute assets where the original tainted property is no longer available in identifiable form.
Legal Significance: Tightening the Noose on Promoter-Led Frauds
Legal observers note that the combination of:
CBI-led FIR for the scheduled offence of bank fraud,
PMLA investigation tracing the flow of illicit funds, and
Provisional attachment of high-value immovable property
reflects a increasingly coordinated approach between investigative agencies and the ED in complex, promoter-driven loan frauds.
The attachment order also sends a signal to the corporate sector that diversion of loan funds through related-party transactions and shell entities will be met not only with criminal prosecution but with aggressive asset recovery under the PMLA regime.
What Comes Next?
The provisional attachment is subject to confirmation by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA. Meanwhile, the ED has indicated that further investigation is underway, leaving open the possibility of additional attachments, arrests or charges as the money trail is further unpacked.
For the consortium of banks, the attachment represents a critical step towards safeguarding recoverable value in a case where the alleged fraud size has been pegged in earlier ED communications at nearly ₹899.35 crore.
