ED attaches assets worth Rs 61.38 crore in graft probe against Bhushan Steel, BEL

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it has provisionally attached Rs 61.38 crore worth of assets of Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL), Bhushan Energy Limited (BEL) and a few others in a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the Indian Express has reported on November 9.

BSL, BEL and its former promoters are accused of siphoning off public funds. "The attached assets consist of agricultural land in Raigad, Maharashtra, warehouses in entities under the control of erstwhile promoters of BSL," IE reported ED statement as saying.

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In 2019, ED initiated a money-laundering probe against Bhushan Steel and Bhushan Energy on complaints filed by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO.) The complaints were filed under various provisions of Companies Act, 2013 and Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Following the probe, ED found the former promoters of BSL and BEL—Neeraj Singal and BB Singal—“diverted” funds from these firms.

The agency also alleged that the two, through an elaborate and complex web of transactions, routed public funds in the garb of unsecured loans given by Bhushan Energy Limited to their associate companies. These funds were utilised for acquiring several immovable properties, ED said.

"The elaborate and complex web of transaction was structured to project these assets as untainted," IE quoted ED as saying.

Among other things, SFIO also alleged that between 2013 and 2017, Neeraj and his father used illegal means to get bank loans worth Rs 45,800 crore.

The funds were allegedly siphoned through a web of 157 companies, of which at least 62 were directly controlled by the Singhals, 85 were operated through employees of Bhushan Group and the rest by entry operators, SFIO said.