Surat, July 9 : In a development under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Surat Sub Zonal Office, has restituted movable assets worth Rs 1.85 crore - including accrued interest - to the State Bank of India (SBI).

The assets were earlier attached in connection with the money laundering case involving M/s Sai Prasad Organics Pvt. Ltd and others. The restitution was carried out in accordance with an order passed by the Special PMLA Court in Ahmedabad Rural.

Officials said the move reflects the agency's sustained efforts to trace and recover proceeds of crime and return them to the rightful claimants, referred to as 'victims of money laundering' under the Act. The ED's investigation stemmed from an FIR (No. 2(E)/2009 dated 29 January 2010) registered by the CBI's Banking Security and Fraud Cell (BS&FC), Mumbai.

The probe revealed that Manoj Kumar Gupta, then Chief Manager at SBI's Salabatpura branch, fraudulently discounted letters of credit (LC) in favour of M/s Sai Prasad Organisers Pvt. Ltd. using fake documents. Funds amounting to Rs 12.12 crore were illegally transferred to the account of M/s Sai Prasad Organics Pvt. Ltd. between 8 October and 30 October 2009.

As part of the investigation, the ED provisionally attached movable assets worth Rs 1.16 crore through Attachment Order No. 01/2015 dated 25 March 2015. This attachment was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, PMLA, New Delhi, on 6 July 2015.

A prosecution complaint was also filed before the Special Court in Ahmedabad against Gupta and others. During the course of the trial, SBI filed an application under Section 8 of the PMLA seeking restitution of the attached properties.

The ED did not object to the request, and the court subsequently approved the return of assets to the bank. Officials noted that the case reinforces the Directorate's commitment to ensuring that defrauded institutions are compensated and that proceeds of crime are brought back into the lawful financial system.

/IANS