In a key development in the multi-crore IL&FS case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has returned assets worth Rs 952 crore, earlier attached during a money laundering probe, to Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd., a Nirma Group company. The restoration was ordered by the Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai, on June 25, 2025, after the ED submitted a no-objection certificate (NOC).
The restored assets include the Surat Cement Plant of Vadraj Cement Ltd. (formerly ABG Cement Ltd.), which was attached by the ED in January 2020 for its alleged role in the Rs 952 crore fraud linked to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS).
The ED had initiated a probe into IL&FS and its group firms under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for generating and laundering proceeds of crime (POC). Vadraj Cement, a group firm of ABG, had received loans from IL&FS Financial Services Ltd. (IFIN) that were later declared non-performing. The ED found that the loans were obtained fraudulently and attached the company’s immovable properties, including its cement plant, as POC.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) was the biggest lender to Vadraj Cement, with claims worth Rs 2,122 crore. Other key lenders included Union Bank of India (Rs 1,620 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 1,419 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 1,391 crore), and JC Flowers ARC (Rs 677 crore).
In April 2025, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, approved a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), allowing Nuvoco Vistas to acquire Vadraj Cement Ltd. for Rs 1,706 crore. To enable the deal, Nuvoco filed an application before the PMLA Court seeking restoration of the attached assets.
Taking into account the objective of PMLA, to return proceeds of crime to legitimate claimants, the ED submitted that it had no objection to releasing the property. Based on this, the Court passed an order under Sections 8(7) and 8(8) of the PMLA along with Rule 3A of the PML (Restoration of Property) Rules, 2016, allowing the property to be handed over to Nuvoco Vistas.
The court directed that a detailed inventory of the assets be prepared by ED before transfer, and asked Nuvoco to furnish an undertaking that it would return or compensate for the property’s value if ordered in the future.
This development marks a crucial step towards resolving one of the biggest insolvency-linked enforcement actions arising from the IL&FS crisis, and is expected to help banks and financial institutions recover part of their dues.
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