NSEL scam: ED attaches Rs278 crore oil factory in Gujarat
Enforcement Directorate says factory in Kadi of Mehsana district belongs to N K Proteins, a defaulting firm in the scam
Ahmedabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached a Gujarat-based castor oil extraction plant worth over ₹ 278 crore of an accused firm in the multi-crore rupee NSEL scam under anti-money laundering laws.
The factory is based in Kadi area of Mehsana district and has been identified by the agency to belong to a defaulting firm Ms N K Proteins in the scam. “The estimated value of the attached oil plant is ₹ 278.18 crore and attachment notices were served on Thursday to the firm after orders in this regard were made on 10 March under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)," ED officials said.
This is one of the biggest single asset attachment made by the central agency in this case so far and the accused firm is allegedly one of the largest defaulters in the scam pegged at ₹ 5,600 crore. The firms’ liabilities stand to the tune of an estimated over ₹ 900 crore.
A top ED official in Mumbai, under which Ahmedabad zone falls, said “I don’t rule out the possibility of some more attachments." In December last year, the agency had attached a commercial property of the same firm worth ₹ 14.22 crore which is based here.
The agency, in the same case, also attached a rice mill in Ludhiana worth ₹ 41 crore. The mill is owned by another accused firm involved in the scam.
ED has so far attached total assets to the tune of over ₹ 700 crore of defaulting firms in this case and is conducting a parallel probe alongside Mumbai Police and other investigative agencies.
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