Hyderabad, Jan 30 : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has completed the process of restitution of five attached immovable properties valued at about Rs 16 crore to the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

EDâ??s Hyderabad Zonal Office said on Friday that the process has been completed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The properties were attached during the PMLA investigation in the case of Ghanshyamdas Gems & Jewels and its Managing Partner, Sanjay Agarwal. The value of the attached properties at the time of registration of FIR in 2011 was about Rs 2.55 crore.

The attached immovable properties for which restitution has been allowed by the Court include a plot and agricultural lands located in the districts of Ranga Reddy and Medak in Telangana. The present market value of the resituated properties is Rs. 16 crore.

The Central agency initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI, BS&FC, Bangalore, against Ghanshyamdas Gems & Jewels and its partners for fraudulently inducing SBI into releasing 250 Kgs of gold on the strength of forged bank guarantees submitted by Sanjay Agarwal, purportedly issued by PNB.

ED investigation revealed that when the news of the fraud became public, Sanjay Agarwal and his brothers Ajay Kumar and Vinay Kumar removed the entire stock of gold from their shop situated at Abids, Hyderabad and sold it off in the local market in cash. This stock was mortgaged to PNB.

The Proceeds of Crime so generated by them were later invested in a new firm opened in December 2012 by Sanjay Agarwal in his wifeâ??s name. Later, he also opened three more firms in the names of his brothers and one of his employees.

Substantial unexplained cash deposits were found in multiple bank accounts opened in the names of his family members and firms controlled by him.

Moreover, the investigation revealed that Sanjay Agarwal had obtained a passport on a fake identity of 'Srikanth Gupta' and travelled abroad several times and opened multiple bank accounts for layering his ill-got money. The money trail further led the ED officials to a benami property acquired in the name of one of his employees, Avinash Soni, the ED said.

The ED had arrested Sanjay Agarwal on February 11, 2022 and provisionally attached 9 immovable properties belonging to Sanjay Agarwal, his family members and benamis.

/IANS