ED seizes assets of Rs 69.14 cr of TN bizman in PMLA case

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New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said that they have provisionally attached immovable and movable assets worth Rs 69.14 crore belonging to Tamil Nadu based businessman Dhanraj Kochar and his family members in a prevention of money laundering case pertaining to cheating on the pretext of providing loans.

On September 28 last year, the ED had conducted searches at different places and seized gold, jewellery, Rs 250 crore cash and documents of around 47 properties.

Out of the six places where searches were carried out by ED officials, two were found locked and cops had to be deployed there to guard them. On September 30, these two premises were finally opened.

The ED had received complaints from more than forty people against Dhanraj Kochar and his family members. They alleged that Kochar and his family members usurped their properties worth Rs several crore on the pretext of offering them loan.

The ED official said that Kochar and his family were charging interest at the rates of 24 to 48 per cent per annum. The ED said that it was violation of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Rate Act.

Kochar and his three sons -- Inderchand, Suresh and Ramesh along with other family members used to give loans in cash by taking property documents and blank cheque from innocent people.

"Kochar and his family would transfer the general power attorney (GPA) of property in their own names before giving the loan. They also took promissory notes from the victims in their own names. Irrespective of whether someone had paid the money or not, they used to transfer the property in their names," said an ED official.

The ED had seized property sale deed documents of around Rs 250 crore during raid in September-October last year.

--IANS

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