Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 11 immovable properties worth Rs 10.63 crore in Srinagar and Bandipora districts in connection with alleged misuse of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), officials said on Monday.
The ED’s Srinagar Zonal Office issued the provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. It covers land and buildings allegedly held or controlled by suppliers-cum-brokers, bank officials and others suspected of involvement.
According to the agency, the investigation originated from two FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Srinagar. They allege misappropriation of PMEGP loan funds through a criminal conspiracy involving borrowers, officials of J&K Bank’s Sumbal and Gamud Gadhkhud branches, and private persons.
The ED alleged that loans under the government-backed scheme were fraudulently obtained by projecting dummy borrowers and using fabricated invoices purportedly issued by non-existent firms. It said private brokers colluded with bank officials to secure sanctions without genuine business transactions.
A survey at the two branches under Section 16 of the PMLA reportedly identified 270 term loan accounts and an equal number of working capital accounts linked to PMEGP. The accounts turned into non-performing assets, with the outstanding NPA amount at around Rs 32 crore.
The agency has traced alleged proceeds of crime of Rs 11.37 crore, which it said were routed through multiple bank accounts. A portion was allegedly used to construct and renovate properties held in the names of family members, while a substantial amount is suspected to have been siphoned off.
The ED identified Hilal Ahmad Wani and others as having played a major role in fraudulently obtaining the loans. Investigators suspect that borrowers’ KYC documents were used with invoices from non-existent firms registered in the names of suppliers-cum-brokers and their relatives. The attachment under Section 5(1) of the PMLA is intended to safeguard the suspected proceeds of crime, and further investigation is under way.
PMEGP is a central credit-linked subsidy scheme designed to help first-generation entrepreneurs set up micro-enterprises and generate local employment. Allegations of misuse strike at a programme aimed at young people seeking self-employment, and cases of this kind often leave banks with large stressed accounts. The figures cited by the agency point to the scale of the alleged scheme, in which a relatively small number of branches accounted for hundreds of loan accounts.
The allegations are those of the investigating agency, and the persons named have not been heard in the information available. The matter will proceed under the PMLA, where provisional attachments are subject to confirmation by the adjudicating authority.
