Bihar: ED attaches properties worth Rs 1.09 crore in rice mill money laundering case
Patna, Oct 8 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Patna Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 1,09,26,808 (Rs 1.09 crore) in Sheikhpura district of Bihar in connection with a money laundering investigation involving M/s Arena Food and Agro Industries Private Limited.
The properties were attached on October 7 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
According to the ED, the properties belong to the company and individuals linked to it, including its director Shreekrishan Kumar, Shobha Kumari, wife of Radhey Sharma, and Kanhaiya Kumar and Kuber Kashyap, both sons of Radhey Sharma.
The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered against Radhey Sharma, director of M/s Arena Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd., under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to the FIR and information received from the predicate agency, the company procured 63,092.45 quintals of paddy from the Bihar State Food Corporation (BSFC) during 2012-13.
Under the agreement, the company was required to supply Custom Milled Rice (CMR) equivalent to 67 per cent of the paddy procured, amounting to 42,271.94 quintals, by December 30, 2013.
The ED, in its official statement, alleged that the company supplied only 19,170 quintals of CMR, leaving a shortfall of 23,101.94 quintals.
According to the agency, the alleged shortfall resulted in a loss of Rs 5,00,28,637.19 (Rs 5.00 crore) to the government exchequer, calculated at Rs 2,165.56 per quintal.
The agency further stated that Rs 1.21 crore was subsequently paid by M/s Arena Food and Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd. to the BSFC, leaving an outstanding amount of approximately Rs 3.79 crore.
The ED has treated the alleged outstanding amount as proceeds of crime in the case.
According to the ED, its investigation found that the CMR was allegedly sold in the open market and that the corresponding amount was not returned to the Bihar government despite the registration of the FIR and reminders issued by the BSFC.
The agency alleged that the proceeds generated through the criminal activity were used in the business and subsequently dissipated.
The investigation also allegedly found that funds from the company’s bank accounts were transferred to accounts belonging to its directors, family members of the principal accused, and family-linked entities associated with his sons.
Based on these findings, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties valued at Rs 1,09,26,808 (Rs 1.09 crore) belonging to the company and the individuals linked to it.
The agency said further investigation into the case is underway.
–IANS
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