kotak-mahindra-scam-ed-attaches-131-cr-in-assets-fir-against-9

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chandigarh, has filed a complaint against nine persons in the alleged Kotak Mahindra Bank scam and attached properties and assets worth Rs 131 crore in the case. It also seized the bank accounts of the accused, attaching bank balances of Rs 12.85 crore and immovable properties worth Rs 118.28 crore.

The inquiry was initiated over an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Panchkula, Haryana. The FIR revealed the embezzlement of funds belonging to the Municipal Corporation (MC), Panchkula, through a criminal conspiracy by unknown bank officials.

 

According to the ED investigation, Pushpinder Singh, the then Deputy Vice-President of Kotak Mahindra Bank, in collusion with Vikas Kaushik, an official of Panchkula MC, and Dilip Raghav, an employee of Kotak Mahindra Bank, opened two unauthorised bank accounts in the name of Panchkula MC by using a series of fake documents and authorisations purportedly on behalf of Panchkula MC, as required under the internal SOPs of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

 

Thereafter, the accused transferred funds of Panchkula MC lying in its genuine accounts with Kotak Mahindra Bank to these unauthorised accounts through fake authorisation letters.

Besides the above-mentioned accused, the ED is reportedly investigating Satish Kumar of Kotak Mahindra Bank for his possible linkages with the fraud. It is important to mention that the mobile numbers and email IDs linked to these two fake accounts, as well as those of the genuine accounts in the name of the Municipal Corporation, were replaced by Vikas Kaushik and Pushpinder Singh.

The funds received in the fake accounts were then further transferred to the accounts of Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar, Kapil Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Sonia, and to entities such as SK Agrotech and SK Agrofirm for further layering and to disguise the source of the proceeds of crime.

During the investigation, the ED found that Pushpinder Singh had purchased many luxury vehicles like the Porsche Cayenne, BMW 740LI, BMW X7, BMW 749I, Jeep Wrangler 2021, Jeep Wrangler 2024, BMW Z4, Land Cruiser and Harley Davidson out of the syphoned-off funds of Panchkula MC.