INDIA. Mumbai: Manoharlal Satramdas Agicha, Chairman of Associate High Pressure Technologies Private Limited (AHPTPL), was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Pune on November 10 in connection with a bank fraud case amounting to Rs 149.89 crore.
The arrest followed his evasion of criminal proceedings related to defrauding the Union Bank of India.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR filed by the CBI, encompassing various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against M/s Associate High Pressure Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and its directors and shareholders.
AHPTPL, headquartered in Mumbai with offices across the country, allegedly diverted the loan amount through fictitious Inland Letters of Credit, bogus unsecured loans, commissions to related entities, and other deceptive methods.
During the investigation, ED conducted nine searches in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kandla, and Pune. Ramchand Kotumal Issrani, Managing Director of M/s AHPTPL, was arrested by the ED on August 8 and remains in judicial custody. A prosecution complaint was filed in this case on October 4.
Agicha, evading the PMLA investigation, had failed to appear before the ED despite multiple summonses. Intelligence efforts tracked him as he frequently changed phones and SIM cards. Finally, on November 10, a residential premise in Pune was searched, leading to his arrest under Section 19 of PMLA, 2002.
Pulpally Service Cooperative Bank
In a separate case, the ED attached assets worth Rs. 4.34 crore in the Pulpally Service Cooperative Bank (PSCB) case under the PMLA 2002 on November 10.
The attached assets include the immovable properties of K. K. Abraham, the then President, then Secretary, other Board members, and Sajeevan K. T., a private individual.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR filed by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Wayanad, Kerala, against the PSCB and the Head of the Loan Section of the bank under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The ED’s investigation revealed that bank officials and governing body members sanctioned enhanced loans without the consent and knowledge of the loan applicants, causing a total loss of Rs.5.62 crore to the PSCB.
The proceeds of the overvalued loans were deposited in Sajeevan Kollappallil’s bank account, maintained with PSCB, and subsequently withdrawn in cash, leading to the siphoning off of funds. Kollapallil and Abraham, who were previously arrested by the ED, remain in judicial custody.
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