The Kochi unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets valued at ₹27.88 crore in a cheating case involving PRD Mini Nidhi Limited, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached assets include immovable properties in the name of the prime accused, Anilkumar D., managing director of the firm, and his family members, and David George, former manager. The value of immovable properties attached is ₹27.72 crore. Movable properties such as bank balances of the accused and their family members and vehicles are valued at around ₹16 lakh, says a release.
The ED launched the probe on the basis of 122 first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Kerala Police against the company. According to the FIRs, depositors had invested in the firm that promised huge returns. However, it failed to return the deposits even after they matured.
A probe revealed that Anilkumar and David George together orchestrated the fraud by collecting deposits from people in cash and through bank transfers, luring them by offering higher rates of interest. They were found to have utilised the deposits for personal purposes, including for investment in other businesses, thereby cheating the investors. The total proceeds from the alleged offence were estimated to be ₹44.82 crore, of which properties worth ₹27.88 crore were traced and attached.
The accused have been arrested and are currently in judicial custody at the Ernakulam District Jail, Kakkanad. Further investigation is on, says the release.
