Mumbai, August 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Mumbai has permitted the release of attached immovable properties worth ₹393.79 crore to bona fide legitimate claimants in connection with an alleged ₹828-crore bank loan fraud involving Nakoda Limited.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said its Surat Sub-Zonal Office secured the favourable order from the Special PMLA Court on August 4 in the money laundering case against Nakoda Limited and others.
According to the ED, the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, revealed that Nakoda Limited, allegedly controlled by Babulal Gumanmal Jain, Devendra Babulal Jain and others, defrauded a consortium of 13 banks led by Canara Bank through the systematic diversion and laundering of funds.
The probe found that the bank consortium had issued Letters of Credit (LCs) to the company’s vendors based on invoices submitted by them. These LCs were allegedly discounted using fake bills of exchange and invoices accepted by Nakoda Limited without any actual supply of goods.
Out of 1,212 Letters of Credit worth ₹4,204.25 crore issued in favour of the company’s vendors, 202 inland LCs amounting to ₹827.98 crore reportedly devolved after the company failed to honour its payment obligations.
During the investigation, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹375.71 crore in 2018 and additional properties valued at ₹18.08 crore in 2019. These attachments were later confirmed by the adjudicating authority.
The agency also filed a prosecution complaint and a supplementary complaint before the Special PMLA Court, seeking confiscation of the attached assets as proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile, insolvency proceedings against Nakoda Limited were initiated before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad. After the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) failed, the company entered liquidation.
The liquidator subsequently approached the Special PMLA Court seeking restoration of the attached properties. The ED informed the court that it had no objection to the release of the assets, citing the objective of the PMLA to restore proceeds of crime to bona fide legitimate claimants.
Accepting the ED’s submission, the court directed the release of attached immovable properties worth ₹393.79 crore to the liquidator for distribution among the legitimate claimants in accordance with the law.
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