New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday attached properties to the tune of Rs 103 crore of Gravit Innovative Promoters Ltd (GIPL) and its promoter Sanjay Bhati and others in the Rs 4,000-crore Bike Bot scam case.
The ED in a statement said that it has attached movable and immovable assets to the tune of Rs 103.73 crore under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The ED said attached assets include 26 immovable properties in Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Kanpur and Indore totalling Rs 101.45 crore along with bank balances in 22 bank accounts totalling Rs 2.28 crore.
The ED had taken over the case in June 2019 on the basis of FIRs registered in Gautam Budh Nagar against the GIPL, Bhati and others. The financial probe agency said that during investigation searches were conducted at 12 locations which resulted in recovery of details of several properties and incriminating documents.
Survey conducted in a Co-operative bank in Noida revealed suspicious transactions and involvement of some banking officials in aiding and abetting the accused in laundering of the public money, it said.
The ED had recorded statements of several persons and relevant records were also collected. “Investigation conducted so far has resulted in identification of 19 immovable properties situated in Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Kanpur and Madhya Pradesh’s Indore in the name of GIPL along with seven other properties.
“These 26 immovable properties and balances in bank accounts totalling Rs 103.73 crores have been attached,” it added.
The ED had registered a case of money laundering against the Greater Noida-based Bike Bot taxi service, which is accused of duping Rs 4,000 crore from over 2.25 lakh investors in multiple states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
The Noida Police had last year arrested the chief of Bike Bot Bhati and over a dozen company officials. Bhati was a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader. According to the ED officials, some of the members of the company wanted in the case are still absconding. Bhati-led GIPL had come out with multi-level marketing scheme ‘Bike Bot’ and lured investors with a promise of doubling returns in a year.
The company sought Rs 62,100 in investment for a motorcycle or taxi and assured monthly returns besides doubling the investment amount in just one year, but it failed to deliver on the promise.
According to the UP Police, the bike-taxis have been operating in districts like Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur and Bulandshahr in western Uttar Pradesh, while its network was also active in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, among others, officials said.
–IANS
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