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NEW DELHI: A Kolkata-based businessman weaved a web of 60 ammunition companies with drivers, house-keeping staff, bureau boys, inferior unit and relatives arsenic directors and created a fictitious turnover of thousands of crores successful robust & alloy manufacturing, each connected insubstantial with nary existent concern enactment involved, and swindled a consortium of govt banks of much than Rs 6,200 crore, with the caput of 1 of the pb banks playing accessory. The scam was scripted by Sanjay Sureka, who created dozens of ammunition entities and with the assistance of S K Goel, past CMD of Uco Bank, managed to get loans of Rs 6,200 crore. "Against loans of implicit Rs 6,200 crore, the company's liquidation worth hardly reached Rs 600 crore, and assets sold truthful acold person realised lone Rs 434 crore," ED has said successful its probe report. The full cognition was unearthed with Goel's apprehension by ED connected May 16 astatine his residence successful New Delhi.
The bureau aboriginal identified properties worthy implicit Rs 106 crore associated with household members and aides and attached them. Sureka and his associates were arrested successful Dec 2024, arsenic the bureau started probing wealth laundering based connected a CBI FIR against them. According to an ED probe report, astatine the centre of this scam was Concast Steel & Power Ltd (CSPL) - erstwhile a flagship robust & alloy radical with plants crossed West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh - which was taken implicit by Sureka successful 2008.
Sureka conjured up the ammunition entities and with the assistance of Goel, who served arsenic CMD of Uco Bank betwixt 2007-2010, managed to get a full of Rs 6,200 crore successful loans without involvement and penalty. This wealth was laundered by the accused and quid pro quo to Goel was transferred successful the sanction of ammunition companies that purchased properties connected the slope CMD's behalf with the ownership of these firms aboriginal being transferred to Goel's household members. "It is simply a lawsuit survey successful however an full fiscal ecosystem tin beryllium manipulated done fake turnover, circular transactions and system-wide unsighted spots, yet leaving nationalist assemblage banks poorer by much than Rs 6,210.7 crore, excluding interest," a elder authoritative said. The authoritative further said 60 ammunition companies sprang up nether the directorship of drivers, bureau boys and inferior unit to assistance Sureka warrant monolithic flows of funds. ED's probe unearthed fake sales, purchases and transport billings wherever CSPL "pretended to bargain and merchantability robust and alloy products" with associated entities, backed by forged invoices, ledger entries, and transport documents. "Fake proscription receipts were prepared to amusement trucks carrying goods betwixt factories and ammunition companies, adjacent though nary motortruck ever moved, nary goods were loaded, and nary transportation was made.
Yet connected paper, CSPL looked similar a bustling, high-volume cognition with continuous accumulation and sales," a root said. The probe further revealed that neither merchantability proceeds nor payments for purchases were made done banks, 99% of the transactions were simply publication entries. Yet, during the full cognition lasting respective years, it did not rise immoderate alarm bells successful the banks, which continued lending. "This meant Concast was fundamentally selling to itself and past realising these payments done accounting fiction.
By 2017, the deception deed its highest - 99% of each income to these entities were settled done publication adjustments, not a azygous existent rupee flowed successful done the banking system," sources said. Purchases archer the aforesaid story. Over 50% of each earthy worldly sourcing came from the aforesaid web of related-party entities. And conscionable similar sales, astir 90% of payments to these "suppliers" were made done interior adjustments - nary existent currency outflow, nary genuine worldly movement, conscionable rotating entries to manufacture expenses, inflate moving superior needs, and warrant monolithic money withdrawals, the probe study said.
