APPELLATE TRIBUNAL UNDER SAFEMA AT NEW DELHI FPA-PMLA-3330/KOL/2019 Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. … Appellant Versus The Deputy Director Directorate of Enforcement, Kolkata … Respondent Advocates/Authorized Representatives who Argued For the Appellant : Mr. Ramakant Gaur, Ms. Sneha Arya, Advocates, For the Respondent : Mr. Pankaj Pandey, Advocate (ED)

Coram SHRI G.C. MISHRA : MEMBER SHRI RAJESH MALHOTRA : MEMBER

FINAL ORDER

08.05.2025 Dictated by: Rajesh Malhotra The present appeal u/s 26 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is filed by the Appellant Finance Company against the order dated 04.10.2019 passed by the Adjudicating Authority, in Original Complaint No.1142/2019, whereby it confirmed the attachment of the property attached by the ED vide Provisional Attachment Order no. 08/2019. The detail of the property mortgaged with the present appellant is as under :-

2. As per the facts of the case CBI, ACB, Kolkata registered FIR no.RC0102016A0038 dated 08.12.2016 u/s 120-B, IPC r/w 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC and also r/w Section 7 & 13(2) r/w Section 13(1) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and substantive offences thereunder, against S/Sh. Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Deputy Manager, Axis Bank; Sanjay Jain, Tax Consultant; Manoj Gupta @ Manoj Kumar Mandal, staff of Sanjay Jain; and other unknown persons.

As per allegations mentioned in the FIR Sh. Amitesh Kumar Sinha in pursuance to conspiracy with Sh. Sanjay Jain, Manoj Gupta and others fraudulently facilitated opening of bogus bank accounts in the names of various non-existing companies like M/s Indian Traders, M/s. Kolkata Suppliers and M/s Ganesh International etc., on the basis of forged and fake documents and facilitated deposit of illegal demonetised currency notes worth Rs.7 crores belonging to around 15 unknown persons, into the said fake accounts. In this way Sh. Amitesh Kumar Sinha obtained illegal gratification for the said work and Sanjay Jain also earned illegal commission for arranging deposit of demonetised currency notes into the said fraudulently opened accounts, thereby cheating the Government.

On the basis of the said FIR the Directorate of Enforcement recorded ECIR No.18/KLZO/2016 dated 09.12.2016 for initiation of investigation for the offence of money laundering.

After completion of investigation CBI, ACB, Kolkata filed chargesheet no.31/2017 dated 30.11.2017 and supplementary chargesheet no.09/2018 dated 02.08.2018 against the said accused persons. It is revealed that Sanjay Jain has been running sales tax consultancy office since 1995 and used to facilitate the firms registered under Sales Tax Department by obtaining details from parties. In the course of his business, he fraudulently opened three proprietary firms, namely- M/s. Ganesh International, Proprietor Sh. Ashok Kumar Murarilal Hada; M/s. Indian Traders, Proprietor Miss Devangna Tiwari and M/s. Kolkata Suppliers, Proprietor Sh. Nand Kishor Singh. Sanjay Jain used the PAN cards and photographs of the original persons for making them proprietors, without their knowledge and consent. Sh. Amitesh Kumar Sinha worked in Axis Bank in Burrabazar Branch, Kolkata from 23.11.2005 to 07.12.2016. Sh. Manoj Kumar Mandal @ Manoj Gupta had been working with Sanjay Jain since July, 2012 as Peon. The said firms were found non-existing at their correspondence addresses. CBI obtained opinion of hand writing expert of Government Examiner of Questioned Documents