Interpol notice against rice company promoter

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said the Interpol has issued a Silver Notice against the promoter of a Delhi-based rice company, who was recently declared a fugitive economic offender, in connection with an alleged Rs 1,200 crore bank loan fraud case.

The notice was published by the Lyon-headquartered global police organisation against Karan A Chanana, chairman and managing director of Amira Pure Foods Pvt Ltd (APFPL), on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) request for tracing and freezing his assets worldwide, the federal agency said in a statement.

The ‘Silver Notice’ helps in identifying, locating and tracing assets acquired through criminal proceeds by the fugitive across Interpol’s member countries. Chanana and Anita Daing, the whole-time director of APFPL, were declared as offenders under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, by a Delhi court last week. The court has also directed confiscation of Rs 123.85 crore worth of assets of the accused, the ED said.

Chanana is stated to be based in the UK, while Daing is located in Dubai.

The 2022 money laundering case stems from a 2020 CBI FIR registered against APFPL, Chanana, Daing and others for allegedly committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and cheating, causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 1,201.85 crore to the consortium of banks led by Canara Bank.

Chanana is the head of the global rice brand Amira that has business in the US, UK, UAE, Germany, Mauritius and in some other countries, according to the ED.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act was brought in by the Union Government to bring to justice people who have left India to evade the clutches of law after committing fraud with a benchmark value of at least Rs 100 crore.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya and UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari have been declared fugitive economic offenders in the past.

The accused persons have been evading the process of law by staying outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts, the ED said.

“Investigation in respect of tracing other assets, including foreign assets of Karan A Chanana and his family members are in progress,” it said.