The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out search operations on Tuesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) at five locations of Bengaluru, in the case of Opto Circuits India Ltd. and related persons in a bank fraud case.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI against Opto Circuits India Ltd. and its promoters and directors, for alleged misappropriation and diversion of loans from a consortium of eight banks which has outstanding liabilities to the tune of ₹883.03 crore.
“The ED investigation revealed that the promoters and directors of Opto Circuits India Ltd. had forged and fabricated the accounts of the company to avail loans from the banks. Further, the loan amount was diverted in the form of investment in subsidiaries in India and foreign countries. The directors and promoters of Opto Circuits India Ltd. forged and falsified the financial statements of the company by showing a healthy position on the balance sheet, by putting a huge amount of trade receivables which were not backed by the commensurate credit-worthiness of the buyers,” said an ED release.
In this manner, Opto Circuits India Ltd. misappropriated and diverted the loan facility from the banks, thereby causing a huge loss to the banks, the ED added.
“During the search operations, incriminating documents related to acquisition of movable and immovable properties, diversion of funds to foreign based subsidiaries, records and foreign currency and financial instruments were found and seized,” the release added.
