PMC Bank fraud case: ED attaches properties worth over Rs 34 crore of Viva Holding

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached two properties worth Rs 34.36 crore of Viva Holding, a company run by the family of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader and MLA, Hitendra Thakur, in connection with the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud allegedly perpetrated by Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) and its promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan.

“The attached assets are in the form of two commercial properties measuring 15,000 sq. metres in Kaledonia building, Andheri East located at Mumbai valued at Rs 34.36 crore,” said an ED statement.

The agency found that Mack Star Marketing Pvt Ltd, a company operationally controlled by the Wadhawans, “illegally and fraudulently” transferred these two commercial properties to Viva Holding without any monetary consideration. Viva Holding, according to ED, has not shown these properties in its balance sheets.

ED is also probing the alleged diversion of a Rs 200 crore Yes Bank loan given to Mack Star Marketing. This loan, according to the ED probe, was used for evergreening the accounts of HDIL with Yes Bank.

Last week, the agency arrested Kapoor in connection with the case. Earlier, the ED had conducted searches at five premises owned by Viva Group and its associates located in Mumbai and arrested Mehul Thakur, director of Viva Holding, and a chartered accountant Madan Chaturvedi in the case.

PMC Bank is under regulatory restrictions after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) found out financial irregularities in its functioning, hiding and classification of loans given to HDIL. The bank has an exposure of over Rs 6,200 crore to HDIL. The RBI has superseded the board of the bank and has appointed an administrator.