The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kochi has attached assets worth approximately Rs 16.52 crore belonging to the Directors of M/s. Surabhi Steels Private Limited and its group companies. The assets, which include 17 immovable properties located in prime areas of Palakkad, Kerala, and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, were provisionally seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
This action is part of the ongoing investigation into a fraud case involving the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Coimbatore branch. The ED’s investigation was initiated based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Chennai, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
According to the ED’s findings, the accounts of three companies under the Surabhi Steels Group, represented by its Directors, were not serviced by payments of principal or interest, resulting in a loss to the bank. The investigation revealed that the borrowers, including K. S. Kader Pillai and his family members, who are directors of the Surabhi Group, defrauded the bank and caused a wrongful loss of Rs 37.74 crore.
The ED further discovered that the financial statements of the borrower companies were manipulated to deceive creditors. The working capital loans obtained from the bank were diverted to the group companies. Additionally, K. S. Kader Pillai and his family members withdrew substantial sums of money from the company before settling the dues of the financial creditors, a practice deemed improper and indicative of misappropriation of the bank loans.
The investigation is still ongoing, and further actions are expected as the case develops.
-
-
-
-
-
-
