Jalandhar: ED attaches Rs 21-cr assets of Amit Bansal, family

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, has issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act vide which movable properties in the form of bank balance, worth Rs 21 crore, have been attached of Dr Amit Bansal, his family members and related entities in a money laundering investigation.The ED had recently conducted raids on the premises of Bansal in connection with the illegal sale of Buprenorphine/Nalaxone (BNX) drugs by 22 private de-addiction centres in Punjab.The ED had initiated investigation on the basis of various FIRs registered by the Punjab Police under Sections of the NDPS Act and Prevention of Corruption Act.The ED investigation revealed that Bansal had been running 22 private de-addiction centres in Punjab and procuring BNX drugs in the guise of the de-addiction centres and selling the same illegally, thereby generating huge proceeds of crime (POC). These drugs are used for the rehabilitation of drug addicts but have been sold illegally and misused for substance abuse. The POC generated through the illicit activities were deposited in the bank accounts of the hospitals and subsequently layered into bank accounts of Amit Bansal and his family members.

Searches were conducted at four locations in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Barnala and Mumbai on July 18 in the case. The search operation covered office and residential premises linked to Amit Bansal, Rusan Pharma Limited and drug inspector Roop Preet Kaur.