NSEL case: Rs 50 crore assets of agro firm attached by ED

The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) of a defaulting firm in connection with its money laundering probe in the National Spot Exchange Limited scam case.

The latest attachment order was issued by the central probe agency against Ms PD Agroprocessors Pvt Ltd, one the defaulters at the bourse.

The agency had identified the assets and immovable properties of the firm after it searched few premises and went through the records of the Mumbai Economic Offences Wing prepared in this regard, sources said.

PD Agro, the third largest borrower of NSEL which traded on the exchange on behalf of Dunar Foods Ltd, Dulisons Cereals and Dulisons Foods, has a payment obligation of Rs 637.49 crore (Rs 6.37 billion).

The ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act last year to probe laundering charges against the officials of the stock exchange and other individuals.

ED has earlier attached properties worth Rs 175 crore (Rs 1.75 billion) under the same laws against various borrower firms.

The NSEL, promoted by the Jignesh Shah-headed Financial Technologies India Ltd, was engulfed in a crisis after trading on the platform was suspended on July 31 last year, raising concerns about possible default of Rs 5,600 crore (Rs 56 billion).

The Mumbai EOW on Thursday arrested Surender Gupta, MD of PD Agroprocessors.

Gupta, who is also Chairman and Promoter of another firm Dunar Foods Ltd, was produced before a local court which had remanded him in police custody till March 12.

Image: Jignesh Shah; Photograph: Paresh Gandhi/Rediff