Chennai,  The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached Gold Palace, of renowned Chennai business groups, Saravana Stores.

The action came on Saturday. The attached property, according to the statement from the ED is worth Rs 234.75 crore.

The attachment is on a criminal case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case of reportedly cheating Indian Bank.

The probe was initiated by the Premier investigation agency dealing with money laundering on the basis of an FIR dated April 25, 2022 registered by the Economic offences wing of the CBI.

The ED initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on May 26. The agency in its report alleged that the partners of Saravana stores Gold Palace, late Pallakudurai, P. Sujatha, and Y.P. Shiravan cheated the bank by projecting sound financial health and fabricating balance sheets while the firm was seeking a loan from the bank.

The statement of the ED said that there was a huge mismatch between the sales reported and the credit entries in the firm. The firm, according to the ED statement, has projected an inflated expected turnover for the upcoming financial years when the firm applied for the loan.

The premier investigating agency also said that the Saravana Store Gold Palace colluded with the property valuer, bank officials, and certain persons proposed to purchase the assets at a higher price than the real fair market value price.

The ED also charged that the trio had overstated the inventory, transferred the assets without the bank's knowledge, and used the Open Cash Credit facilities to repay the loan. The agency in the charge sheet also charged that the firm misappropriated and diverted the funds and other wrongful deeds causing a major loss to the Bank.