The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has returned assets worth ₹4,025 crore of the erstwhile Bhushan Steel and Power Limited to JSW Steel following the Supreme Court’s approval, the federal probe agency said on Saturday (December 14, 2024).
JSW Steel was the successful applicant for a resolution of the insolvent company’s assets under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
These assets were earlier seized by the federal probe agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a probe against Bhushan Steel and Power and its promoters on charges of alleged bank loan fraud and “misappropriation” of those funds for personal investments. .
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that recovery of assets worth ₹4,025 crore was made under Section 8(8) of the PMLA (restitution pending trial) read with Rule 3A of PMLA Restoration of Property Rules .
The Apex Court on Wednesday (December 11, 2024) approved this ED proposal, the Agency said.
“On the issues of interpretation of Section 32A (2) of the IBC, the powers of the ED to attach properties of corporate debtors under CIRP or other issues related thereto, the Supreme Court has not expressed any opinion and the issues left open,” it added.
The money laundering case against Bhushan Steel and Power stems from a complaint filed against the company and its promoters by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, an investigative wing of the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has belatedly started the process of ‘return of assets’ for genuine or legitimate investors, including in cases such as the Saradha Ponzi ‘scam’ and the alleged bank loan fraud linked to diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
Published – Dec 14, 2024 12:15 PM IST
