The Enforcement Directorate has arrested 2 promoters and the auditor of Decan Chronicals Holdings for a money laundering case.
The arrested people are, former chairmen and current promoter, T Venkattram Reddy; former director and current promoter P K Iyer, and auditor Mani Oomen. The reason behind these arrests is an alleged money laundering case, stating that they defrauded the banks by submitting forged documents.
ED tweeted out “ED has arrested T. Venkattram Reddy, P. K. Iyer, Promoters & ex-Directors of M/s Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited & Mani Oommen [statutory auditor of DCHL]on 13/6/2023 in a bank fraud case under the PMLA, 2002. Total attachment, as of date, in this case, stands at ₹386.17 Crore.”
The ED also stated that under the pretense of forged documents, Decan Chronicals Holding Limited (DCHL) acquired 111 credit facilities from about 16 private and public banks for Rs 9,805 crore.
ED’s press release also stated “DCHL and their promoters/directors understated the financial charges and overstated advertising revenues to consistently defraud the banks for obtaining new loans”
The arrests of the promoters and auditor happen after they were questioned on Tuesday. The questioning led ED to accuse Venkattram Reddy, P K Iyer, and Mani Oomen of diverting funds to subsidiaries. ED further accused T. Venkattram Reddy of buying a private plane and P K Iyer of buying a collection of high-end cars with said funds.
As T. Venkattram Reddy and P K Iyer controlled about two-thirds of the entire company they were alleged to have taken approximately Rs. 143 crores for themselves.
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