ED files charge sheet against ex-Andhra Bank exec over Rs 5k-cr fraud

New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a charge sheet against a former Andhra Bank director in an alleged Rs 5,000-crore bank fraud case involving a Gujarat-based pharma firm.

The final report was filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma against Anup Prakash Garg under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The charge sheet, filed through ED’s special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana, alleged that during the probe, the agency came across “certain entries” in a diary seized by the Income Tax Department in 2011 which showed various payments totalling about Rs 1.52 crore made to one “Garg, Director, Andhra Bank” by Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara and Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara, directors Sterling Biotech, between 2008 and 2009. “Various cash payments were made to Garg, as reflected in the said entries, on the instructions of the Sandesara brothers, by withdrawing cash from the bank accounts of several benami companies owned by them,” it said.

This is the second (supplementary) chargesheet in this case after the agency filed one against Delhi based businessman Gagan Dhawan in this case last year involving the Vadodara-based company Sterling Biotech. Garg (59) was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in this case in January. The 81-page charge sheet along with annexures, also called prosecution complaint under the PMLA, names Garg and his “beneficial ownership” firm– RAG Buildtech Pvt Ltd as accused. The agency said it has seized assets worth Rs 1.23 crore of Garg and his family which includes a flat in Indore, an agricultural plot in Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and four fixed deposits.

It said its investigation in the case found that “in the year 2008-2009 Garg had received nine cash payments to the tune of Rs 1,52,00,000 which was withdrawn from various accounts of Sterling Biotech Limited group companies and the same was eventually funded out of availed credit facilities by SBL group.” According to the ED, the group had “availed credit facilities of around Rs 23,500 lakh between 2006-2009 from Andhra Bank (which is the lead bank of consortium of banks with regard to credit facilities given to the SBL group) and in that period Garg was the director of Andhra Bank.”

The ED said Garg “has been actively and actually involved in criminal activity and the properties acquired by Ms RAG Buildtech were found involved in the offence of money laundering which the accused projected as untainted property being beneficial owner of the said company.”