Bhopal, Jan 30 : The Enforcement Directorate's Bhopal Zonal Office, has filed a charge sheet against Mark Pius Karari and four others in connection with a money laundering case involving Manoj Parmar and his aides, ED officials said.

The complaint was submitted before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in Bhopal on Wednesday, ED officials noted on Thursday.

Following the filing, the court issued notices to the accused persons.

The investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Bhopal under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The probe revealed that Manoj Parmar, in collusion with the then Branch Manager of Punjab National Bank, fraudulently availed loans under two government schemes -- the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme and the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana.

In 2016, a total of 18 loans amounting to Rs 6.20 crore were sanctioned using fake applicants, forged documents, and fabricated quotations.

Of this, Rs 6.01 crore was actually disbursed.

Further investigation exposed serious procedural violations.

The bank's loan sanction terms were disregarded, second-level approvals were bypassed, and loans were cleared beyond the financial powers of the Branch Manager.

Field inspections confirmed that no business units were established, and many supposed borrowers denied applying for or receiving any loans.

The schemes, intended to promote self-employment, were misused, and the loan funds were diverted into accounts of firms controlled by Manoj Parmar and his aides.

The funds were systematically routed through multiple linked entities to obscure their origin, withdrawn in cash, and used to purchase properties in the names of Manoj Parmar and others.

The firms were used to simulate business activity, creating a façade of legitimacy around the misappropriated funds.

This pattern of layering and circulation was aimed at projecting the proceeds of crime as untainted assets.

In a significant move, the ED has provisionally attached 12 immovable properties worth nearly Rs 2.08 crore located in Ashta town in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district belonging to Manoj Parmar and his associates.

The investigation is underway.

/IANS