ED returns properties of Surya Pharmaceuticals worth INR 185 crore to SBI-led consortium

NEW DELHI — Cracking down on the loan defaulters and those involved in bank fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday returned properties valued at INR 185.13 crore from M/s Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to the SBI-led consortium of banks.

The return of assets to the consortium of banks comes on the back of the pharmaceutical company causing a loss of about INR 828.50 crore through its dubious and illegal operations.

The ED, in its bid to return the proceeds of crime to banks, obtained a no-objection order from the Court, regarding restitution of properties. The restitution order was issued by the court on October 25, thus allowing the attached properties to be returned to the consortium of lending banks through the official liquidator, as mentioned in PMLA laws.

Two years ago, the investigative agency had attached assets including building, plant, and machinery worth INR 185 crore, belonging to Surya Pharmaceuticals over alleged bank loan fraud.

The investigations, primarily based on FIR lodged by CBI revealed that M/s Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and its Directors/Promotors Rajiv Goyal and Alka Goyal had caused a wrongful loss worth INR 828.50 crore to the consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) and obtained illegitimate gain to themselves by way of criminal activities.

They resorted to devious means to obtain loan money from the banks. Fabricated documents including invoices, transport details, lorry receipts etc were used for issuance of Inland Letters of Credits (ILCs) from the bank and were subsequently layered and siphoned off by M/s Surya Pharmaceutical Ltd. using a web of bank accounts of group companies and shell entities.

“The defrauding company also used forged bills of lading, import invoices and documents of shipping line for issuance of Foreign Letter of Credits (FLCs) from the bank,” the agency said in a statement.

The company in question received POC in its bank accounts through the round-tripping of funds from fraudulently issued Inland and Foreign Letters of Credit.

After committing these offences, Rajiv Goyal and Alka Goyal had fled the country and were also declared proclaimed offenders by the Chandigarh court in 2017.