New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate said on Monday that it has conducted searches in a case of an alleged fraud of over Rs 61 million perpetrated against a Qatar-based bank by a Kerala man.
The raids were carried out on August 28 at three locations in the state at the homes of individuals associated with Ismail Chakkarath, who is suspected of channeling illegal proceeds generated by defrauding United Bank Limited in Doha, Qatar, the federal agency said in a statement.
Details of the fraudulent scheme and the investigation
The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the crime branch and the economic offences wing of the Kerala Police (Kannur and Kasaragod districts) over allegations that Chakkarath, a resident of Thuvakkunnu in Kannur, was running a company called Grant Mart Trading in Doha.
The accused Chakkarath travelled to Qatar to expand his business and took a loan totalling QAR 3,064,3204 (equivalent to Rs 61.28 crore) from United Bank Limited. After availing the loan, he neither returned the amount nor used it to expand his business, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.
Misappropriation of funds and ongoing investigations
The loan amount, the ED said, was “diverted and invested” under “benami” names in KeralaWayanad District.
“Funds worth Rs 2.02 crore were diverted for the purchase of a property, which later did not materialise,” he said.
During the searches, Rs 3.50 lakh in cash and “incriminating” documents were seized, besides freezing 10 bank accounts of Chakkarath and related entities, the ED said.
(With PTI inputs)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.