New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested the Chairman and Managing Director of Shakti Bhog Foods Limited Kewal Krishan Kumar in a money laundering case. “Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Kewal Krishan Kumar, CMD of M/s Shakti Bhog Foods Limited under the provisions of Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 from Delhi on 04.07.2021,” the ED said in a statement on Monday.
According to the ED, the arrest was in continuation of a search that has been carried out at nine premises located in Delhi and Haryana. The ED has initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered by CBI against Kumar and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.
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The allegations against Kumar include diversion of funds from loan accounts and siphoning of funds by way of suspicious sale or purchase from various entities. Earlier this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked the company for an alleged fraud of Rs 3,269 crore on the basis of a complaint filed by a consortium of 10 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
“On a complaint from the SBI, the agency (CBI) has booked the managing director of the company, Kewal Krishan Kumar, and other directors Siddhrath Kumar and Sunanda Kumar,” news agency PTI reported on June 1 quoting sources. The 24-year-old Delhi-based company is into manufacturing and selling wheat, flour, rice, biscuits, cookies, etc.
It had grown organically as it ventured into food-related diversification over a decade with a turnover growth of Rs 1,411 crore in 2008 to Rs 6,000 crore in 2014. “However, the growth came to an abrupt halt in 2015 with the account turning into a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) and it was ultimately declared a fraud in 2019,” added the PTI report.
