Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated fresh searches at approximately a dozen locations in Delhi-NCR and Punjab as part of a money-laundering investigation into a Chandigarh-based pharmaceutical company. The focus is on Parabolic Drugs and its promoters, linked to an alleged bank fraud. Promoters Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta, co-founders of Sonepat-based Ashoka University, along with CA Surjeet Kumar Bansal, were earlier arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investigation stems from a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2021, involving a bank loan fraud of ₹1,626 crore.
The first round of searches in this case occurred in October. The ED filed a money-laundering case against the accused in January last year.
The ED alleges that the arrested directors were actively involved in defrauding banks through forged documents, intentionally changing the color of loan funds from liabilities to assets, and siphoning off funds through circuitous transactions. The wrongful activities caused a loss of ₹1,626.7 crore to the Central Bank of India and other consortium banks, as per the CBI FIR.
The Gupta brothers had stepped down from their positions at Ashoka University in 2022 after the CBI case was registered against them.
Ongoing Investigation: The ED’s ongoing investigation aims to uncover the financial intricacies and fraudulent activities associated with the accused. Stay tuned for more updates.
