MMTC fraud case: ED seizes assets worth Rs 363 crore

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has seized assets worth Rs 3 crore from a jewelery firm in a fraud case involving public sector entity MMTC. The assets have been seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of Gupta and other group units, the ED said in its statement.

Sukesh Gupta along with MMTC Hyderabad officials cheated a public sector company

The Hyderabad Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered an FIR against Sukesh Gupta and others in connection with an FIR filed by MMTC Limited (Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation) under the Buyers Credit Scheme.

Sukesh Gupta, along with some officials of MMTC Hyderabad, continued to withdraw money and gold without forex cover and adequate security deposit.

The ED alleged that their arrears were constantly mis-reporting to the MMTC head offices and that these firms continued to withdraw money from the MMTC for their personal gain without compensating for the current losses, resulting in a loss of Rs 504.34 crore to the public. This includes Rs 277.52 crore with interest till May 31, 2021.

Sukesh Gupta, along with MMTC Hyderabad officials, painted a wrong picture of their accounts and continued to withdraw money from MMTC on that basis. This caused huge losses to MMTC. While Sukesh Gupta's business flourished and he made huge profits.

The ED said that based on this business profile, he took loans and did real estate deals and developed his business in the name of various companies. Throughout the investigation, Sukesh Gupta disobeyed Ritsar. In another case registered under PMLA, PMLA has slapped a fine of Rs 222 crore on MBS Group under FEMA provisions. Sukesh Gupta had made a one-time settlement with MMTC in 2019, but the OTS failed as Sukesh Gupta did not raise any funds after that.