PATNA – In a major development, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations on January 2 at three locations in Patna, targeting both residential and business premises associated with M/s Mohan Alankar Jewellers and Co. The operation, carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, resulted in the arrest of Sourav Kumar, son of the proprietor of the firm, on January 4 in connection with the Kotak Mahindra Bank fraud case.
Sourav Kumar was presented before the CJM Court, Patna, which subsequently remanded him to judicial custody until January 12. The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by Gandhi Maidan P.S. Patna under various sections of the IPC, 1860, and a subsequent charge-sheet. The charges alleged fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs. 31.93 Crore from the bank account of Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) cum District Land Acquisition Officer (DLAO), leading to the siphoning off of funds through bank accounts of various shell/dummy entities, causing significant losses to the government exchequer.
The ED’s investigation unveiled that out of the total fraudulent transactions of approximately Rs. 31.93 Crore, around Rs. 5.34 Crore were transferred from the aforementioned government account to the bank account held by M/s Mohan Alankar Jewellers and Co. at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Boring Road Branch, Patna. Further findings indicated that Sourav Kumar managed and oversaw all the business activities of the firm, actively conspiring and assisting the accused in siphoning off government funds and retaining a portion of the ill-gotten gains.
The search operation yielded incriminating details and documents, along with the recovery of proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs. 1.38 Crore, including cash worth Rs. 11,51,500 and jewelry valued at Rs. 1.26 Crore. The ED confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, with further efforts to unearth the full extent of the fraud.
