ED attaches assets worth Rs 204.27 cr of Ardor Group in bank fraud case in Ahmadabad

According to ED, the attached properties include the commercial office of the company at SG Highway, Thaltej residential plot at Satellite,five 5 residential plots at Ambali,17 residential plots at Gokul Dham, four shops at Bodakdev, office premises at Ellisbridge and Ashram Road in Ahmedabad and non-agricultural land at Surat.

The central financial probe agency's move come after the registration of six FIRs by the anti-corruption branch of CBI Gandhinagar and also an FIR by Mumbai CBI, wherein it has been alleged that Ardor Group of Companies and its Directors in connivance with unknown bank officials have cheated and caused wrongful loss to the consortium of Banks amounting around to Rs 488 crore.

The probe agency, during its investigation, revealed that Bharat Shah, Fenil Shah and Geetaben Shah, all directors of Ardor International Ltd, Ardor Global Pvt Ltd and Chem Edge International Pvt Ltd indulged in the circular routing of the funds received out of credit limit sanctioned by the consortium of banks to artificially inflate the financials of the companies for increasing the credit facilities from the consortium of banks having Bank of India as the lead bank.

“They obtained loans in the name of the group companies and diverted and mis-utilized the funds received from the consortium for purposes other than for which the credit facilities were sanctioned," ED said.

Further, they mortgaged assets of other group companies for availing higher credit limits where false stock statements and financials were submitted to the consortium banks by the Ardor Group Companies and they did not repay the amount owed to the consortium of banks led by Bank of India resulting in accounts becoming NPA, the agency’s officials said.

“Investigation conducted so far resulted into identification of assets totalling to Rs 204.27 crore. These assets being the part of proceeds of crime have been provisionally attached under PMLA, the ED said, adding that the further investigation has been under progress.