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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided seven locations in Telangana over a ₹326.49 crore bank fraud case linked to Kanakadhara Ventures Pvt. Ltd. (KVPL).
The Enforcement Directorate conducted search operations across Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Telangana’s Medchal-Malkajgiri district in connection with an alleged bank fraud amounting to ₹326.49 crore.
As per the complaint, KVPL misused credit facilities, submitted fake steel purchase invoices to divert funds, and operated unauthorized outside bank accounts.
During the coordinated searches, agency officials recovered ₹15 lakh in unaccounted cash and seized a substantial volume of documents, financial records, and digital storage devices linked to the suspected irregularities. The raids were conducted at the company’s registered corporate office, the residential premises of its directors, and premises linked to intermediaries suspected of facilitating fund transfers.
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on December 8, 2022, by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Bank Securities and Fraud Branch in Bengaluru. The case was initiated following a formal complaint lodged by Punjab National Bank. The First Information Report invoked Sections 120-B, 420, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, covering criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and the use of forged documents, alongside relevant provisions under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The alleged default involves a five-bank lending consortium led by Punjab National Bank, which suffered an estimated collective loss of ₹326.49 crore. Other participating lenders in the consortium included IDBI Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Andhra Bank, which has since merged with Union Bank of India.
According to the agency’s initial findings, bank guarantee and letter of credit facilities sanctioned to Kanakadhara Ventures were allegedly misused to shift money away from their approved business purposes.
Investigators stated that the funds were systematically moved through connected and conduit firms using fabricated invoices for steel purchases as well as false transport documentation. These records were purportedly created to present the underlying financial movements as legitimate commercial transactions.
The investigation also revealed that the firm maintained and operated bank accounts outside the consortium arrangement without the approval or knowledge of the member lenders. Officials suspect these unapproved accounts were utilized to divert capital and obscure the transaction trail. The confiscated electronic devices and physical records are undergoing forensic evaluation to trace the final beneficiaries of the routed funds.
In addition to the seizure of unaccounted cash and corporate records, the Enforcement Directorate has identified multiple immovable properties and financial investments linked to the directors and associated entities. Officials are reviewing the source of funds utilized to acquire these assets to establish whether they represent the proceeds of crime derived from the bank loan diversion.
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