The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹814 crore in the case of JVL Agro Industries Limited and others.
The attached properties are in the form of land measuring 521 acres situated in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Rohtas (Bihar), Palam (Delhi) and Raigarh (Maharashtra). They are registered in the name of JVL Infra Heights Limited, JVL Mega Food Park Private Limited, JVL Cement Limited, Premium Pressure Vessels Private Limited, and the promoters Satya Narayan Jhunjhunwala and Adarsh Jhunjhunwala, said the agency on Wednesday.
The money laundering probe is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against JVL Agro Industries Limited and others for offences under various provisions of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the ED, JVL having units in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal, was involved in manufacturing and trading edible oils. The company used to import crude oil/raw material from overseas, including Singapore and Malaysia through its foreign subsidiary, JVL Overseas Pte. Ltd., Singapore. JVL Agro Industries Limited availed itself of credit facilities from the banks by allegedly submitting manipulated and inflated financial statements and diverting its funds through various group entities, as alleged.
It alleged that the promoter, Mr. Satya Narayan Jhunjhunwala, acquired and opened various paper entities as group entities of JVL Agro making puppet directors who are daily wages employees and his staff, to divert funds of JVL Agro Industries Limited through such paper entities.
He also registered two Trusts named Mahalaxmi Investment Trust and Ratnapriya Investment Trust and transferred the almost entire shares of paper entities in them. “Such an act of S. N. Jhunjhunwala and associates resulted in losses to the consortium of banks led by Bank of Baroda to the tune of about ₹1,992 crore, said the agency.
