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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth INR 58.34 crore belonging to Ritu Singal, wife of former Bhushan Steel promoter Neeraj Singal, in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to alleged diversion of company funds. The attached assets include land and part of a residential property in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, along with equity shares and bank balances. The action forms part of an ongoing investigation initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). The agency has alleged that funds were diverted from Bhushan Steel through fraudulent transactions, causing substantial losses to financial institutions.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets valued at INR 58.34 crore belonging to Ritu Singal, wife of former Bhushan Steel promoter Neeraj Singal, as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation relating to the alleged diversion of funds from Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL). The attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to an official statement issued by the agency in the past week.
The attached assets comprise land and a portion of a residential property located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in addition to equity shares and bank balances held in the name of Ritu Singal. The ED said the provisional attachment order was issued on June 24, with the total value of the attached assets estimated at INR 58.34 crore.
The investigation originates from a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs against Bhushan Steel Ltd, Neeraj Singal and several other individuals. The case pertains to allegations of financial irregularities and diversion of company funds prior to Bhushan Steel's insolvency proceedings.
Bhushan Steel underwent the corporate insolvency resolution process before being acquired by Tata Steel Ltd in 2018. The ED has alleged that Neeraj Singal and his associates diverted funds from the company by presenting transactions as legitimate business activities, resulting in losses of approximately INR 11,446.73 crore to financial institutions.
According to the agency, its investigation found that zinc ingots purchased from Hindustan Zinc Limited for use at Bhushan Steel's manufacturing facilities were allegedly sold in the open market without being recorded in the company's books. The ED alleged that cash generated through these off-the-books transactions was subsequently used to obtain accommodation entries in the form of purported long-term capital gains through various penny stock companies.
The agency further alleged that the diversion of cash generated from the unrecorded sale of zinc ingots was supported by evidence of substantial unaccounted cash deposits into bank accounts during the relevant period.
The ED stated that it had previously attached assets worth INR 428 crore in connection with the same investigation. It has also filed two prosecution complaints, commonly referred to as chargesheets, against Neeraj Singal, Ritu Singal and other accused persons before the competent court.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations are currently subject to legal proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Source - PTI
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