The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Hyderabad has completed the restitution process of five immovable properties worth approximately Rs 16 crore to the Punjab National Bank (PNB). These properties were attached during a money laundering investigation related to Ghanshyamdas Gems & Jewels and its Managing Partner, Sanjay Agarwal. Initially valued at about Rs 2.55 crore in 2011, the properties include a plot and agricultural lands in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy and Medak districts, now valued at Rs. 16 crore.
The ED’s investigation stemmed from an FIR filed by the CBI, BS&FC, Bangalore, against Ghanshyamdas Gems & Jewels and its partners for fraudulently obtaining 250 Kgs of gold from SBI using forged bank guarantees from PNB. Sanjay Agarwal and his brothers were found to have sold the gold in the local market for cash after news of the fraud surfaced. The illicit proceeds were then invested in new firms and unexplained cash deposits were discovered in various bank accounts under their control.
Furthermore, the probe uncovered that Sanjay Agarwal obtained a passport under a fake identity, ‘Srikanth Gupta,’ and engaged in multiple international travels to open bank accounts for laundering money. The money trail led to a benami property held by one of his employees, Avinash Soni. Sanjay Agarwal was arrested on February 11, 2022, with the ED provisionally attaching nine immovable properties belonging to him, his family, and associates.
