ED attaches Rs 6.56 crore Guwahati properties in Agnipa Energo bank fraud case

Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached six immovable properties in Guwahati worth approximately Rs 6.56 crore in connection with an alleged bank fraud and money laundering case linked to M/s Agnipa Energo Pvt. Ltd. and others.

In a press release issued on May 9, the Guwahati Zonal Office of the ED said the attached properties include two commercial spaces in the “Shine Towers” project and two flats along with two penthouses in the “Shine Heaven” project. The properties are held in the names of Anil Jaina, Runu Jaina and Shine Realtors Pvt. Ltd.

The investigation was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ACB Guwahati, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act following a complaint filed by Bank of India.

The CBI later filed a chargesheet against nine accused persons, including three promoter-directors of M/s Agnipa Energo Pvt. Ltd., three Bank of India officials and partners of the conduit entity M/s Shine Mechfab JV.

According to the ED, the promoter-directors secured a loan of ₹10.65 crore from Bank of India in February 2013 for setting up a small hydro power project in Baksa by allegedly submitting fabricated documents showing an equity infusion of ₹3.75 crore by M/s Urch Traders Pvt. Ltd.

The agency stated that the documents were later confirmed to be forged by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory. Investigators also alleged that a certificate submitted in support of the loan application had been issued by a person who was never the statutory auditor of the company.

Officials said that out of ₹9.33 crore disbursed by the bank in 28 instalments between 2013 and 2015, around ₹8.67 crore was diverted to related-party joint venture M/s Shine Mechfab JV and subsequently routed to group entities including Shine Realtors, Shine Combine and Shine Shelters Pvt. Ltd.

The ED alleged that the transfers lacked any legitimate business basis and included ₹75 lakh diverted on the very first day of loan disbursement, out of which ₹52 lakh was reportedly withdrawn in cash the same day.

Investigators further claimed that approximately ₹1.43 crore was later routed back from the joint venture entity to the borrower company and the bank through reverse or round-trip transactions.

The agency also alleged that four transactions in 2015 amounting to ₹1.01 crore were credited back to the loan account on the same day in an attempt to suppress classification of the account as a non-performing asset (NPA).

According to the ED, transactions were also routed through an undisclosed Karnataka Bank account in violation of loan sanction conditions.

The total wrongful loss caused to Bank of India has been quantified at ₹8.76 crore, which the ED has identified as proceeds of crime under the PMLA.

Further investigation in the case is ongoing.