Enforcement Directorate, Chennai, has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹224.6 crore belonging to companies linked to former Aircel promoter C Sivasankaran. The properties were attached in connection with a money-laundering probe in an alleged multi-crore loan fraud at IDBI Bank.
On receipt of a complaint from Central Vigilance Commission, the CBI, Bengaluru, filed an FIR against Axcel Sunshine Ltd, industrialist Sivasankaran of Siva Industries and Holdings Ltd, the Siva Group of companies, bank officials and others, for non-payment of loans amounting to $67 million disbursed by the IDBI Bank, Chennai, a press release from the directorate said.
‘Loans misused’
Investigation by Enforcement Directorate, Chennai, revealed that the Siva Group negotiated, applied and obtained loan in the name of a front company Axcel Sunshine and misused -utilised it to pay off strike off their earlier and other loans.
As the loan amount granted by IDBI was utilised for repayment of earlier loans and the earlier loan amounts were merged with the business expenses of Siva group of companies, based on the concept of equivalent value, various immovable properties worth of ₹224.25 crore and movable properties of ₹35.32 lakh were identified and have been provisionally attached under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The immovable properties attached includes vacant lands and office premises at MRC Nagar and T Nagar, and movable properties includes mutual funds and balance amounts available in their bank accounts. Further investigations are in progress, the release said.