The Enforcement Directorate (ED) linked investment linked life insurance policies worth Rs 3.66 crore to the alleged Rs 1,266.63 crore fraud in State Bank of India (SBI). The action appears to have been taken in exercise of the prevention of money laundering act 2002 (PMLA).
The ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office conducted the investigation into the attachment against the headquarters of M/s Advantage Overseas Private Limited (AOPL) and Shrikant Bhasi, said to be the promoter of the company. It is set to be the sum of two investment-linked life insurance policies from Zurich International Life Limited with a combined surrender value of USD 387,814.42, which translates to Rs 3.66 crore.
The ED had begun investigating the complaint by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which stated that AOPL along with its directors and unidentified public servants were responsible for making Rs 1,266.63 crore worth of fraudulent merchanting business transactions with SBI.
The investigation uncovered facts that the company obtained banking facilities from different banks using trades which were initiated by a fake merchanting business, circular trading, falsified trade documents, and diversion of banking funds to several domestic and overseas entities, the ED said. The so-called proceeds of crime were then parked in real estate and other investments in India and overseas, being managed by Shrikant Bhasi.
In the course of the investigation, the ED concluded that both the insurance policies were bought and held with the money diverted through foreign accounts and Bhasi associate companies during the said investigation period of the alleged offence. In the same order, the agency also alleged that Bhasi wanted to surrender the policies in April last year and get the monies credited to his bank account in India.
The ED had provisionally attached nine residences in Dubai with an estimated valueto them of nearly Rs 51.70 crore and assets in India that are valued at nearly Rs 111 crore during the investigation. A thorough investigation of the case is continuing.