ED attaches properties of Varron Group of Industries

Staff Reporter

In a recent development in the Varron Group of Industries’ loan fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 12 immovable properties worth Rs 12.80 crore in Nagpur, Pune, Ratnagiri, and Goa. The action has been initiated as part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into the money-laundering allegations against the company and its late promoter S P Sawaikar.

The ED’s investigation is based on three FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which accuses Varron Group and S P Sawaikar of fraudulently discounting 246 forged bills backed by the letter of credit (LC) of approximately Rs 300 crore opened by Canara Bank, Deccan Gymkhana Branch, Pune, on behalf of M/s Varron Aluminium Pvt Ltd (VAPL). ED claimed that there was no real movement of goods, and the amounts were diverted to pay off older loans, causing a loss to the Bank of India. The agency has also alleged that the loan proceeds were diverted for purposes other than the stated ones, and the amounts were utilized to create landed assets in the name of the promoters and also to create benami assets.

Earlier, the ED had attached proceeds of crime worth Rs 166.47 crore in the same matter on May 25, 2021, and a prosecution complaint was filed before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on February 6, 2023. With the latest attachment, the total attachment made by the agency in the case has now reached Rs 179.27 crore. The provisional attachment of properties has come as a major blow to the Varron Group of Industries and its promoters. The ED has stated that its investigation into the case is ongoing, and it is committed to taking strict action against those found guilty of money laundering and other financial crimes.