ED Files Chargesheet Against GDS Builders Director, Bank Officer In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a Prosecution Complaint in a special PMLA court here against GDS Builders Pvt Ltd director Umasankar Patro, Union Bank of India (UBI) Nayapally branch’s erstwhile Assistant Manager Ashwini Kumar Patra, and Dwarka Jewellers.

This came days after the agency attached assets worth over Rs 19 crore of the firm, its director and others under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The investigation was initiated on the basis of three FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bhubaneswar, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act against Patro, three officials of UBI’s Nayapalli branch and private loanees. It was found that a few officials of UBI in connivance with Patro and some borrowers fraudulently availed housing loans in 2017. Patro and his family members misappropriated the loan amounting to Rs 18.79 crore. Furthermore, Patro through his jewellery firm committed fraud in the Cash Credit loan obtained from Indian Bank (formerly Allahabad Bank), Bhubaneswar, causing a significant financial loss of Rs 7.14 crore to the bank.

In May, the ED had conducted searches at eight locations in the capital city linked to Patro and his relatives and seized 1.978 kg gold ornaments worth Rs 1.30 crore and Rs 15 lakh in cash.