ED files charge sheet against 124 individuals, firms in Adarsh Cooperative money laundering case

Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 31

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday it has filed a “Prosecution Complaint (equivalent to a Police Charge Sheet)” against 124 individuals and firms under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (ACCSL) case.

The ED, in an official release, said that it filed a charge sheet against 124 individuals, companies and firms including ACCSL, Mukesh Modi and directors or partners or persons responsible for Adarsh Group of Companies or firms or LLPs, the Riddhi Siddhi Group of Companies or firms or AOPs, the Virendra Modi Group of Companies or individuals and others.

The financial probe agency said the complaint has been filed months after it attached movable and immovable properties, worth Rs 1,489 crore, spread across Rajasthan, Haryana, New Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The ED had registered a case on the basis of a Rajasthan Police FIR against Mukesh Modi, Rahul Modi and others of Adarsh Group, officials of ACCSL and other private persons on the offences of cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery of valuable security, and criminal conspiracy.

“Money laundering probe revealed that ACCSL lured common people by offering high interest rates on their deposits. The funds so collected were siphoned off to Mukesh Modi’s companies or firms and his relatives and associates in garb of loans illicitly availed and integrated with their real estate businesses,” the agency said in the release, while adding that funds so collected were “diverted or siphoned off by Mukesh Modi and others”.

“Mukesh Modi, in collusion with his relatives Virendra Modi, Bharat Modi, Rahul Modi, Rohit Modi, Priyanka Modi, etc and associates including society’s officials, siphoned off depositors’ funds from ACCSL by way of inter-linked fraudulent transactions,” it said.

Mukesh Modi, his relatives and associates incorporated several companies or firms or LLPs for the sole purpose of diverting funds from ACCSL to their real estate business by way of availing fraudulent loans.

The ED also alleged that Mukesh Modi infused huge amounts in these companies as share capital from ACCSL.