Bank Fraud: Shakti Bhog CMD Arrested By Enforcement Directorate In Money Laundering Case

Kumar was arrested on Sunday and produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court that sent him to custody till July 9.

ED has arrested the CMD of Shakti Bhog

New Delhi:  With the fraudulent loans on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate, Kewal Krishan Kumar, chairman and managing director (CMD) of Delhi-based Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd has been arrested in a case linked to an alleged multi-crore bank loan fraud.

Kumar was arrested on Sunday and later produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court that sent him to custody till July 9.

In fact, before the arrest, at least nine premises in Delhi and Haryana were raided and various incriminating documents and digital evidences have been recovered, as per the investigating agency.

What case has been filed against Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd?

The ED case has been filed under criminal sections of the PMLA based on a CBI FIR. The FIR was filed early this year against Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd for an alleged fraud of Rs 3,269 crore on a consortium of 10 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).

While the CBI complaint was filed after the SBI registered a complaint against the company. According to the SBI, the directors allegedly falsified accounts and forged documents to siphon off public funds.

The 24-year-old company, which is mainly into manufacturing and selling wheat, flour, rice, biscuits, cookies etc., had grown organically and expanded into food-related diversification over a decade.  As per the PTI report, the company has reported a turnover growth of Rs 1,411 crore in 2008 to Rs 6,000 crore in 2014, according to the bank.

The ED said the "allegations against the accused include diversion of funds from loan accounts by round-tripping through related entities and siphoning of funds was being done by way of suspicious sale/purchase from various entities."