ED Searches ARSS Over Loan Fraud
The agency is also investigating the role of AMR promoter and chairman Mahesh Kumar Reddy Althuru in the transactions under scrutiny.
Hyderabad:Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations in Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving Odisha-based ARSS Group and the AMR Group.
The searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Premises linked to former promoter and director family members of ARSS Infrastructure Projects Limited — former promoters and directors Anil Agarwal, Rajesh Agarwal, Sunil Agarwal and Subhash Agarwal — were among those searched.
The agency is also investigating the role of AMR promoter and chairman Mahesh Kumar Reddy Althuru in the transactions under scrutiny.
The investigation stems from allegations that ARSS Group obtained loans from SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) and SREI Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) through fraudulent or irregular means. The loans were allegedly not repaid, resulting in substantial financial exposure to the lenders.
According to the allegations being examined by the agency, the funds raised through the loans may have been subjected to various financial transactions intended to conceal their actual utilisation, including the terms between ARSS Group and AMR Group. The ED is probing suspected loan diversion of funds and round-tripping of money, besides other alleged financial irregularities.
The searches across four cities are aimed at tracing documents, financial records and other material that could help establish the flow and utilisation of the allegedly diverted funds. Investigators are also expected to examine the financial links between the entities and individuals under scrutiny.