Srinagar, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 11 properties, including land and buildings, worth Rs 10.63 crore in Srinagar and Bandipora districts of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with an alleged loan fraud under the Centre’s Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
The ED’s Srinagar Zonal Office issued the provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The properties were allegedly held or controlled by suppliers-cum-brokers and a J&K Bank official involved in the misuse of the scheme, the agency said.
The investigation was initiated on the basis of two FIRs registered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Srinagar. The FIRs alleged that PMEGP loan amounts were misappropriated through a criminal conspiracy involving borrowers, officials of J&K Bank’s Sumbal and Gamud Gadkhud branches, and other persons. The CBI registered another FIR in the case in June this year.
An ED survey at the two bank branches found that 270 term loan accounts and 270 working capital accounts under PMEGP had turned into non-performing assets (NPAs), involving an amount of around Rs 32 crore.
According to the ED, loans were fraudulently obtained by projecting dummy borrowers and using fake invoices issued in the names of non-existent firms and companies, allegedly in connivance with bank officials and private individuals acting as brokers.
The agency said its investigation had identified Hilal Ahmad Wani and others as playing a major role in fraudulently obtaining the loans. Borrowers’ KYC and other documents were allegedly used along with fake invoices of firms registered in the names of suppliers-cum-brokers or their family members.
The ED has traced proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 11.37 crore. It alleged that the funds were routed through multiple bank accounts, with part of the money used for the construction or renovation of properties held in the names of family members, while a substantial portion was siphoned off.
The 11 properties have been provisionally attached under Section 5(1) of the PMLA to safeguard the value of the alleged proceeds of crime, the agency said.
FOLLOW NOW
