ED arrests chartered accountant in Shakti Bhog bank fraud PMLA case

New Delhi, August 14

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a chartered accountant in Delhi in connection with a money laundering probe against Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd in an alleged Rs 3,269 crore bank fraud case, the agency said on Saturday.

Raman Bhuraria was arrested on Friday for his “assistance and complicity” in the alleged fraud. Later in the day, he was produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here that sent him to ED custody till August 20.

“This arrest was in continuation of rejection of his (Bhuraria’s) anticipatory bail by the Hon’ble special court and searches conducted by the department on various locations pertaining to the arrestee,” the ED said in a statement.

“During the search action, various incriminating documents and digital evidences have been recovered,” it claimed.

The ED’s money laundering case against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited was filed after studying a CBI FIR that charged the company and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

“The allegations against the accused (Bhuraria) include his active assistance and involvement in the bank fraud by way of round tripping through related entities.”             

“Siphoning off the funds was being done through fictitious sale and purchase through various dummy and other entities,” the ED alleged.

The ED had arrested Shakti Bhog Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) K K Sharma in the case last month.

The CBI FIR was filed after the State Bank of India (SBI) registered a complaint against the company.

According to the SBI, the directors allegedly falsified accounts and forged documents to siphon public funds.

The 24-year-old company, which is into manufacturing and selling wheat, flour, rice, biscuits, cookies etc,, had grown organically as it ventured into food-related diversification over a decade with a turnover growth of Rs 1,411 crore in 2008 to Rs 6,000 crore in 2014, the bank complaint had said. PTI