The Enforcement Directorate has lodged a prosecution complaint in Ahmedabad under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against a chartered accountant accused of swindling a trust of over Rs six crore. The complaint pertains to Tehmul Sethna, a practicing chartered accountant, who allegedly deceived the Environment Research & Development Centre (ERDC). The case originated from an FIR filed by the Gujarat Police under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which are considered scheduled offences under the PMLA.
During its investigation, the Enforcement Directorate discovered that Sethna was given responsibility for managing the trust’s administrative and financial matters. He purportedly acquired a trustee’s signature to open a bank account and later forged it to issue unauthorized bearer cheques. The agency stated, “Through this method, he withdrew approximately Rs 6.85 Crore from the Trust’s account without the trustees’ knowledge, resulting in Proceeds of Crime and wrongful pecuniary gains.”
A provisional attachment order was previously issued in the case, leading to the attachment of various immovable properties like residential flats and plots, equivalent in value to the alleged proceeds of crime totaling Rs 6.85 crore. The case is now awaiting further proceedings at the Special Court (PMLA) in Ahmedabad.
