The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 22 movable and immovable assets worth ₹112.90 crore in connection with an alleged ₹376 crore bank loan fraud and money laundering case involving Noida-based air-conditioner components manufacturer LEEL Electricals Limited and its promoters. The attached assets include a residential property in Texas, United States.
According to the ED, the Texas property is jointly owned by the company’s principal promoter Bharat Raj Punj and his wife Pooja Punj. The attachment also covers industrial plots and residential properties located across Delhi, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The agency said the provisional attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During the investigation, the ED found that the attached assets were allegedly beneficially owned and controlled by the promoter family and were held either in their own names or through related and shell entities to conceal the alleged proceeds of crime.
The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of a CBI FIR alleging that the company’s promoters and senior officials cheated a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) by submitting false and manipulated financial statements. According to the agency, the alleged fraud caused a wrongful loss of around ₹376 crore to SBI and IDBI Bank.
The money laundering investigation further revealed that the company’s financial records were allegedly manipulated by inflating the value of assets, inventories and receivables to present a stronger financial position than actually existed. This allegedly enabled the company to continue availing bank loans and other credit facilities.
The ED has alleged that the bank funds were siphoned off through a network of promoter-controlled companies and related entities in India before being transferred to overseas subsidiaries in the guise of investments and loans. According to the agency, these overseas entities were allegedly used to divert and conceal the proceeds of crime, making a significant portion of the funds unrecoverable.
Investigators also alleged that part of the diverted funds was later converted into immovable properties held in the names of related companies and members of the promoter family. Some of these properties were subsequently sold, and the sale proceeds were allegedly utilised for the personal and business expenses of the promoter family.
According to the ED, the investigation found that a substantial portion of the allegedly diverted funds had been routed outside India through the network of overseas subsidiaries. On this basis, the residential property in Texas has also been attached as an asset representing the alleged proceeds of crime held abroad.
The agency said the investigation is continuing, with financial transactions, overseas investments, shell companies and other related documents remaining under scrutiny. The ED added that further legal action may be initiated if additional assets or individuals are found to be linked to the alleged money laundering operation.
