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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties worth ₹557.49 crore in the case involving Amtek Auto Limited and others, the agency said on Wednesday (March 26, 2025).
The case is also related to ARG Limited, ACIL limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, and Castex Technologies Limited, besides Amtek Group promoter Arvind Dham, and others.
The move follows the provisional attachment of ₹5,115.31 crore on September 5, 2024, which has been confirmed by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act Adjudicating Authority.
The latest attached assets include 145 acres of land in Rajasthan and Punjab; other properties valued at ₹342 crore in and around Delhi; fixed deposits and bank balances worth ₹112.5 crore; and shares, mutual funds, and investments worth ₹123.9 crore.
Investments of “notorious” Mumbai-based stock market operators “involved in securities fraud through listed companies of Amtek Group”; third party assets, and those of an Amtek company under fraudulent insolvency proceedings, and the properties alienated before initiation of the proceedings, have also been attached.
According to the ED, investigations revealed that the group companies — Amtek Auto Limited, ARG Limited, ACIL limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, and Castex Technologies Limited — along with other linked entities were taken to insolvency, whose resolution had led to a haircut of over 80% for the banks.
“ED investigations revealed that financial statements of group companies were deceitfully manipulated to obtain additional…loans and create bogus assets and investments in the books of accounts,” it added.
The agency had earlier conducted searches at more than 40 locations, subsequently arrested Mr. Dham, and filed a prosecution complaint on September 6, 2024.
The probe is based on the Supreme Court’s directive to the ED in February 2023, issued while hearing a Public Interest Litigation against the Amtek Auto group of companies. Bank fraud to the tune of ₹27,000 crore was alleged.
The court expressed concerns regarding the alleged diversion of public money, warranting a comprehensive investigation by the ED, even though the banks concerned had settled the accounts.
It was also noted that there were First Information Reports registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation following the complaints lodged by IDBI Bank and the Bank of Maharashtra, alleging that bank loans had been illegally diverted and wrongful loss caused to the banks.
Published – March 26, 2025 11:13 pm IST
