The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out search operations on at the business premises, bank lockers of Atlas Jewellery India Limited (AJIL) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at three places in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi and made a total seizure of Rs 26.59 crore in the form of fixed deposit, Indian currency, gold, silver and diamond jewellery.
The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR. registered by the Kerala Police, Thrissur East Police Station, Thrissur against Atlas Jewellery, MM Ramachandran and Indira Ramachandran under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating South Indian Bank, Round South Branch, Thrissur, Kerala, the ED said in a statement.
With an intention to cheat, these accused planned and presented forged documents to the bank and availed loan worth Rs 242.40 crore during the period March 21, 2013 to September 26, 2018 and have not repaid the money.
"Investigation revealed that MM Ramachandran had invested Rs 100 crore by way of purchase of equity shares of Atlas Jewellery India Limited (AJIL), New Delhi and transferred another Rs 14 crore in the Escrow Account with Axis Bank, New Delhi," it added.