The ED's Jaipur Zonal Office said the attachments were made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attached assets include land, industrial plots, residential properties, bank balances, fixed deposits and mutual fund investments spread across Delhi, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The attachment also includes a residential property in Houston, Texas, USA.
According to the ED, the assets are allegedly beneficially owned and controlled by the promoter family of LEEL Electricals Ltd. and were held in their own names and through related and shell entities to conceal the proceeds of crime.
The investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against LEEL Electricals Ltd., Bharat Raj Punj and other senior company officials under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ED said the CBI's FIR and subsequent chargesheet alleged that the promoters and key managerial personnel entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) by submitting false and manipulated financial statements, resulting in an alleged wrongful loss of about Rs 376 crore to SBI and IDBI Bank.
According to the ED, the investigation found that the accused allegedly siphoned off bank funds by manipulating the company's financial records, inflating the value of assets, inventories, and receivables to continue availing bank credit facilities.
The agency further alleged that the diverted funds were routed through a network of promoter-controlled and related companies in India and transferred to overseas subsidiaries in the guise of investments and loans. A significant portion of the funds could not be recovered, indicating that the overseas entities were allegedly used to divert and conceal the proceeds of crime.
The ED also stated that the diverted funds were eventually invested in immovable properties held in the names of related companies and promoter family members. Some of these properties were later sold, with the proceeds allegedly used for the personal and operational expenses of the promoter family.
The agency said it has also attached a residential property in Texas, USA, jointly owned by Bharat Raj Punj and his wife Pooja Punj, alleging that it represents proceeds of crime held outside India. Further investigation is underway.
