ED attaches Rs 2,381-cr assets of Rose Valley Group (Lead)

New Delhi March 29 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets totalling Rs 2 381 crore of the Rose Valley group of companies which is under investigation for fraudulent collection of money from the public and laundering it an official said on Thursday.

The seized assets includes 400 immovable properties including more than 200 acres of land and 15 hotels and resorts located at Mondarmani Lataguri Durgapur Midnapur and Falakata in West Bengal.

The book value of the property attached so far is Rs 1 233 crore (more than Rs 4 200 crore in market value).

This is the biggest single attachment by the ED which is investigating cases against the Rose Valley Group under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The group is accused of collecting Rs 17 000 crore in deposits from people illegally on the pretext of exorbitant returns and then routing this money through a complex maze of a large number of companies and accounts under the guise of loans and advances.

The Rose Valley Group owned by Gautam Kundu is accused of collecting deposits without complying with the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The group has since repaid Rs 10 857 crore including interest of Rs 2 430 crore though around Rs 8 600 crore was still outstanding an ED statement said.

"The group did not run any profitable business or did not have any other operational activities to generate revenue and all expenses incurred by them were sourced from the money fraudulently collected from the public.

Arrested by the ED on March 25 2015 Kundu is in judicial custody. His bail petition has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

--IANS
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