ED Seizes Luxury Cars and Freezes Bank Accounts in Multi-Crore Bank Fraud Case Involving Electrotherm India Ltd.
(Judicial Quest News Network)
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) Ahmedabad Zonal Office has conducted extensive search operations across multiple locations in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar on January 10-11, 2025, in connection with an ongoing investigation into a major bank fraud case involving Electrotherm India Ltd. and its directors. The probe is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
During the operations, ED seized two high-end Mercedes luxury cars and froze 37 bank accounts, with a total balance of approximately Rs. 33.67 Crore. The investigation follows a case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) based on a complaint from the Bank of India, accusing Electrotherm India Ltd. of causing a wrongful loss of Rs. 631.97 Crore to the bank.
The investigation has revealed that the total proceeds of crime linked to this fraud amounted to Rs. 81.97 Crore as of June 30, 2014. Additionally, Electrotherm India Ltd. and its directors Mukesh Bhandari and Shailesh Bhandari are under investigation for two other similar fraud cases involving loans from Central Bank of India, with defaults totaling Rs. 388.23 Crore. As part of these cases, the ED has already attached assets worth Rs. 179 Crore, and a prosecution complaint has been filed in the trial court.
