Jammu, Aug 22 (PTI) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jammu Sub Zonal Office, has provisionally attached several immovable properties worth Rs 66.77 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here, the agency said on Friday.

The provisionally attached properties comprise factory land and building of Messrs Bharat Papers Limited and two residential houses of directors or relatives of directors of the company, the ED said in a statement.

The ED initiated investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI and ACB, Jammu, against Bharat Papers Limited and its directors -- Anil Kumar and his brothers Parveen Kumar, Baljinder Kumar and Rajinder Kumar -- for defrauding a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 200 crore on the basis of a complaint filed by the then deputy general manager, Stressed Asset Management Branch, State Bank of India, Ludhiana, Punjab.

The ED investigation revealed that Bharat Papers Limited and its directors did not use the loan amount for the purpose for which the loan was sanctioned, the statement said.

However, it said the funds were diverted through bogus or shell entities and bank accounts opened outside the consortium of banks.

Further, the loan funds were also siphoned off by way of cash withdrawals directly from the loan accounts, the statement said, adding that machine parts from the factory unit of the company were also stealthily removed and sold without the knowledge of the banks. PTI TAS KSS KSS

Prevention of money laundering enforcement triggers provisional attachment of assets after alleged loan diversion and use of shell entities. Provisional attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was applied to immovable properties identified as proceeds potentially derived from unlawful diversion of loan funds. The enforcement inquiry found that sanctioned loan amounts were diverted through bogus entities and separate accounts, cash withdrawals from loan accounts, and covert removal and sale of factory assets. The attachments secure factory land, buildings, and residential properties linked to company directors and relatives while statutory investigation under PMLA proceeds.