Bhubaneswar, Dec 20 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bhubaneswar Zonal Office has frozen deposits to the tune of Rs 70 lakh belonging to Odisha-based NGO Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA) in connection with a case registered under various provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an official said on Friday.
In a statement, the ED also revealed seizing shares worth Rs 10 lakh found during the searches.
The ED sleuths had earlier on December 18 conducted search operations related to an investigation being carried out at four locations linked to the NGO in Odisha and Delhi.
“The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by EOW, Odisha Police and CBI. The ED investigation revealed that BISWA was being run by Khirod Chandra Mallick and in the guise of financing self-help groups (SHGs) and joint liability firms (JLFs), Khirod Chandra Mallick mis-utilized the fund and also started accepting deposits from the public, which was not allowed as per RBI guidelines,” revealed ED.
The ED during the course of the investigation also came to know that the BISWA group was also involved in a bank loan fraud of more than Rs 200 crore.
The sleuths recovered 505 benami accounts and related materials during the raids at different locations related to the NGO.
“During the search, suspected 505 benami accounts of individuals and self-help groups (SHGs) and their related signed and unsigned cheque books were also recovered. As a result of the search, an amount of more than 72 lakh lying in these 505 different bank accounts has been frozen and further, shares worth Rs 10 lakh have been recovered and seized along with a number of incriminating documents like sale deeds, cheque books and digital devices,” the ED statement read.
It is pertinent here to mention that Khirod Chandra Mallick is the brother of senior Biju Janata Dal leader, Pramila Mallick.
–IANS
gyan/pgh