The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against former Andhra Bank Director Anup Prakash Garg for allegedly receiving over ₹1.5 crore in bribes from Sterling Biotech Limited (SBL) group, which is accused of cheating nationalised banks of ₹5,383 crore.
The accused was arrested in January. His assets worth ₹1.23 crore have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.
The charge sheet names Garg, and RAG Buildtech, which was allegedly used for laundering the money. Garg served as Director from October 2006 to October 2009, during which Sterling Biotech got ₹235 crore in credit facilities from Andhra Bank.
The agency alleges that Garg received ₹1.52 crore in at least nine tranches on the directions of Sterling Biotech promoter Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara between 2008 and 2009. The money was paid by withdrawing cash from various SBL accounts. Co-accused Sandesara went underground after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case against him and his associates.
The bribery allegations have been corroborated by SBL employee Ashok Gandhi, who purportedly disclosed that the said payments to Garg were also recorded on Sandesara’s orders. A diary of financial transactions maintained by him was seized by the Income-Tax Department during searches in June 2011.
The Directorate has unearthed the entire trail of the money allegedly paid to Garg, by identifying all the connected accounts, fund transfers via cheques, withdrawals and subsequent transactions. “The funds released as credit facility were routed within various accounts of SBL group and then siphoned off to make cash payments to Garg,” said an official.
The ED also recorded the statement of one Avinash Triolotkar, who disclosed that he had handed over cash to Garg on several occasions at Gandhi’s behest.
The agency found that undisclosed amounts were laundered allegedly through RAG Buildtech, which was floated by Garg through his family members. It turned out that some of its shareholding companies — Fairdeal Vinimay, Parasmani Tradecom and Vaikunth Vintrade — held shares valued at as high as ₹500 per unit. However, their actual value was ₹10 in 2010-11 and ₹75 in 2011-12.
“These three entities were actually shell companies, as confirmed by their on-paper functionaries. The role of a chartered accountant has also come to light in this connection,” said the official.
