Vijay R Gupta, the promoter and director of Vindhyavasini Group, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 26 for allegedly obtaining fraudulent credit facilities and loans from the State Bank of India (SBI).
Gupta was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has been remanded in ED custody for seven days. The ED’s investigation follows the FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai, which were initiated against the Vindhyavasini Group companies and their promoters, including Vijay Gupta and Ajay Gupta.
According to the ED, Gupta and his companies fraudulently availed loans worth Rs 764.44 crore from SBI using forged and fabricated documents. These loans were secured for purposes such as purchasing steel rolling mills in Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) and Maharashtra, and constructing malls and commercial buildings under different entities like Rajput Retail Ltd.
The loans were eventually declared Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in 2013, leading to significant financial damage. Investigations revealed that the Gupta brothers inflated their Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and falsified documents to bypass the required promoter’s contribution, effectively defrauding the bank.
The ED’s probe continues as they work to uncover the full extent of the fraud.
