ED raids locations in J&K, Punjab and UP in ₹200 crore bank loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on January 31 raided locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in a ₹200 crore alleged bank loan fraud case linked to the Bharat Papers Ltd. (BPL), official sources said.

At least nine premises in these regions are being searched by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Incorporated in September, 2006, the BPL is an associate of the Bharat Box Factory Industries Limited (BBFIL), a paper board packaging industry based in Jammu and Ludhiana.

The primary allegations against the company are that its directors have perpetrated a bank loan fraud of about ₹200 crore with a consortium of banks with lead bank as the State Bank of India.

The other banks include J&K Bank, PNB and Karur Vysya Bank.

It is alleged that the accused "siphoned off" funds to sister concerns/bogus entities and undertook sale of imported/indigenous machinery without permission of lender banks by raising "fake" invoices.

The directors of the Bharat Papers Limited are Rajinder Kumar, Parveen Kumar, Baljinder Singh, Anil Kumar, and Anil Kashyap.