The Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s Ahmedabad Zonal Office on Wednesday announced that it had provisionally attached immovable assets valued at Rs 19.37 crore belonging to Hellios Tubealloys Pvt Ltd (HTPL) in connection with a bank fraud case.
The attached properties, which include commercial land in Rajula, Amreli district and a residential flat in Ahmedabad, were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on December 17.
The action follows an investigation initiated after the CBI office of ACB in Gandhinagar lodged an FIR based on a written complaint from the Deputy General Manager of the Bank of Baroda’s Ahmedabad region.
According to the FIR, HTPL and its directors, Shantilal Sanghvi and Mahesh Sanghvi, are accused of defrauding the bank of Rs 28.54 crore. The CBI filed a chargesheet in the case on December 28, 2021.
The ED’s investigation revealed that HTPL was established with the intention of trading in stainless steel products, including sheets, coils, plates, fittings and manufacturing stainless steel pipes and tubes. The bank had granted the firm a credit facility totalling Rs 29.67 crore.
Out of the Rs 28.54 crore loan, around Rs 14 crore was allegedly diverted fraudulently to a sister company, M/s SLS Stainless Pvt Ltd, which shares common directors with HTPL.
Additionally, HTPL had secured a bank guarantee of Rs 4.50 crore, which was forfeited due to non-performance. The remaining loan amount was allegedly misused for various payments, including term loan repayments, bank guarantee charges, letters of credit charges and tax payments.
This led to a wrongful loss of Rs 28.54 crore to the Bank of Baroda. However, the bank has since recovered Rs 5.64 crore through the sale of mortgaged assets and other recovery measures. The remaining loss to the bank stands at Rs 22.90 crore.
During the ED’s investigation, certain immovable properties linked to HTPL’s sister company were identified, prompting the provisional attachment of assets worth Rs 19.37 crore.
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