ED registers money-laundering case against former IL&FS top brass, raids company's offices

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case against former top officials of IL&FS, including its former chairman Ravi Parthasarathy, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The investigating body is carrying out raids at various offices of IL&FS, including its BKC, Mumbai office, and at the premises of the former officials.

The case was registered following and FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police and the SFIO report pointing out instances of misreporting of income, dubious transactions, conflict of interest, ever-greening of loans and personal enrichment of key employees.

Infrastructure financier IL&FS was in the news last year when it defaulted on its obligations after accumulating a debt of Rs 92,000 crore. The default led to a liquidity crunch in the financial system and threatened to trigger a contagion.

Ashish Begwani, Director of Enso Infrastructures (P) Ltd, had filed the case against officials of IL&FS Rail for allegedly causing Rs 70 crore loss to his company by fraudulent means. Begwani had alleged in his complaint that in August 2010, he was approached by two officials of IL&FS Transportation Networks and he had invested Rs 170 crore in IL&FS Rail, a special purpose vehicle for Gurugram Metro project, in order to take its 15 per cent shares.

"However, over a period of time, the complainant observed that the company is not performing profitably and funds are being misused," an EOW official had said quoting Begwani's complaint.

The ED will probe if funds generated illegally in this case, were laundered to create illegitimate assets by the accused.

With inputs from PTI