J&K Bank fraud case: ED raids former J-K minister's son Hilal Rather

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Aug 6

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at 16 locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Ludhiana in connection with the J&K Bank scam in which Hilal Rather, son of former Jammu and Kashmir Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Abdul Rahim Rather, is alleged to have been involved, officials in the agency said.

Raids were also conducted at the residence of Hilal Rather in connection with the probe, the officials said, adding that the actions are aimed at collecting more evidences in the case.

The ED has filed a money laundering case against Hilal Rather and others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and Income Tax Department probe against him that pertains to Rs 177-crore alleged bank fraud scam.

The CBI in its FIR has alleged that Hilal Rather entered into a criminal conspiracy with the then officials of the J&K Bank to get loans of Rs 177.68 crore (approximately) in violation of rules and guidelines, the officials said.

The Income Tax Department had last year conducted search and seizure operations on properties of Hilal Rather covering four premises in the Kashmir valley and six places in the Jammu region.

The ED officials said Hilal Rather had been under the scanner for concealing his income and also indulging in illegal activities.

The Hilal Rather Business group is engaged in real estate and information technology and is accused of large-scale diversion and misappropriation of loans taken from J&K Bank, they added.

During the search, Income Tax detected that the Hilal has been given the illegal benefits of Rs 60 crore by Jammu and Kashmir Bank. His outstanding loan of Rs 190 crore was settled at Rs 130 crore, although he did not deserve any concession, the officials said, adding that the probe has revealed that during the demonetisation period the group company had made cash deposits of Rs 1.44 crore and it could not explain the source of the money.