New Delhi: Assets worth more than Rs 520 crore, attached earlier under the anti-money laundering law in a bank-loan fraud case, have been restored to the legitimate claimant company, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday.The case pertains to an investigation against Cox & Kings Limited (CKL), its promoters and others. The federal probe agency had put the total "proceeds of crime" in the case at Rs 4,100 crore.
The ED's probe had found that an amount of Rs 1,066 crore out of the said proceeds was "siphoned off" to a company named V Hotels Limited."Out of this, Rs 520.8 crore remained outstanding and was attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002," the ED said in a statement.The company (V Hotels) later underwent insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Macrotech Developers Limited was approved as the successful resolution applicant (SRA).
The PMLA has a provision for restitution or restoration of assets to the defrauded entity and hence, the ED and the SRA came together for initiating such a process in this case too.The SRA deposited Rs 520.8 crore in an interest-bearing fixed deposit with the State Bank of India (SBI), representing the substituted value of the attached properties.
The ED said it consented to the restitution of the assets attached by it (worth Rs 520.8 crore) subject to the condition that the SRA has no connection with the erstwhile management or beneficiaries of the alleged proceeds of crime.The Supreme Court recently ordered the restoration of the Rs 520.8 crore deposit, along with the accumulated interest, to the SRA under section 8(8) of the PMLA, the agency said.
The court also noted in its order its "appreciation for the earnest efforts made by the officers of the Directorate of Enforcement in restoring the attached properties to secure the interests of justice".
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