Bank fraud case: ED arrests ex UCO Bank CMD Goel on money laundering charges
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has arrested former UCO Bank CMD Subodh Kumar Goel on money laundering charges in an alleged bank loan fraud case of more than Rs 6,200 crore linked to a Kolkata-based company.
Goel was arrested from his residence here on May 16 in the case being probed against Concast Steel and Power Ltd (CSPL) and others.
He was produced before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata on May 17 which sent him to Enforcement Directorate custody till May 21, the federal probe agency said in a statement.
The Enforcement Directoratehad raided the premises of Goel and some others in April as part of this investigation.
The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR related to the sanction of credit facilities to CSPL and subsequent large-scale "diversion" and "siphoning" of loans amounting to Rs 6,210.72 crore (principle amount without interest).
The Enforcement Directorate claimed that during the tenure of Goel as the CMD of UCO Bank, large credit facilities were "sanctioned" to CSPL which were subsequently "diverted" and "siphoned off" by the borrower group.
In turn, it alleged, Goel received "substantial illegal gratification" from CSPL.
"The illegal gratification was layered and channelled through various entities to give a facade of legitimacy.
"Investigation revealed that Goel received cash, immovable properties, luxury goods, hotel booking etc routed through a web of shell companies, dummy persons and through family members to conceal the criminal origin of the money," the Enforcement Directorate said.
Goel or his lawyer could not be contacted for a response on the allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate against him.
The agency said several properties acquired through shell or dummy companies have been identified.
These shell entities are "beneficially owned or controlled" by Goel and his family members, it claimed.
"The source of funds of these entities is linked to CSPL. Evidence gathered so far also shows use of accommodation entries and structured layering through front companies for systematic settlement of kickbacks," the Enforcement Directorate said.
Sanjay Sureka, the main promoter of CSPL, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in December, 2024 and a chargesheet was filed before the Kolkata court in February this year.
The agency had attached assets worth Rs 510 crore of Sureka and CSPL as part of two orders issued under the PMLA.
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Cong performed better in Kerala, anti-incumbency trends influenced WB, TN: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Congress had largely met or exceeded expectations in several States, even as results in some regions reflected shifting voter sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said the party accepted the mandate in Assam while performing better than anticipated in Kerala.
He also pointed to possible anti-incumbency trends influencing outcomes in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
“In Assam, we got the expected result, and we accept the people’s mandate. In Kerala, we have won more seats than expected. We anticipated around 76 to 80, but we have gone up to around 95,” Siddaramaiah said.
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, there may have been an anti-incumbency trend, and that could have influenced the results, he added.
Siddaramaiah also extended his congratulations to a new political entrant in Tamil Nadu, noting the emergence of a different electoral dynamic in the State.
“I congratulate the new entrant who has achieved success there,” he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said electoral outcomes in some States had diverged from the party’s internal assessments, reflecting evolving voter expectations.
“We expected a certain trend, but the results have been different. Political reading was wrong in some places,” he said.
“People were looking for change in some States, and that has been reflected in the results,” Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka unit president, said.
Referring to Kerala, he said the Congress-led alliance had benefited from public sentiment.
“There was already an expectation based on local body elections, and people had shown confidence in us. That has translated into a strong result,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
On Tamil Nadu, he acknowledged that the scale of political shift had come as a surprise.
“We expected to secure around 30 to 40 per cent of the vote share, but such a major shift was not anticipated. It shows that voter expectations were different,” he said.
Shivakumar added that electoral outcomes underscored the need for better political assessment in future.
“We have to understand these changes carefully. Political reading cannot go wrong like this,” he said.
