ED conducts raids at Atlas Jewellery shops in connection with cash laundering case

By Express News Service

KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 26.59 crores value of movable property of Thrissur-based Atlas Jewellery India Limited (AJIL) following a raid its officers carried out on the agency’s enterprise premises and financial institution lockers in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi. The movable property embody fastened deposits, Indian forex, gold, silver, and diamond jewelry.

According to an ED assertion, a case below the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was registered primarily based on a police FIR at Thrissur East Police Station. The accused within the case are Atlas Jewellers, MM Ramachandran also called Atlas Ramachandran, and his spouse Indira Ramachandran for allegedly dishonest South Indian Bank’s Round South Branch, Thrissur. “The accused persons planned and presented forged documents to the bank and availed loan worth Rs 242. 40 crores during the period of March 21, 2013, and September 26, 2018, and have not repaid the money,” the ED launch stated.

After registering a PMLA case, the ED discovered that Ramachandran had invested round Rs 100 crore by means of buy of fairness shares of AJIL and transferring one other Rs 14 crores within the Escrow account with Axis Bank, New Delhi. ED is continuous with the investigation of the case.

Atlas Ramachandran had confronted a three-year jail time period from 2015 to 2018 in Dubai after his firm reportedly took round Dh 500 million and did not repay the quantity. He was launched following the intervention of the Indian authorities and influential NRIs.

Ramachandran has acted in just a few Malayalam motion pictures and Keralites keep in mind him for showing in Atlas Jewellery TV commercials with the slogan – “Atlas Jewellery. Janakodikalude Vishwastha Sthapanam,” (Atlas Jewellery. The firm with crores of individuals’s belief).

Atlas group began its first Jewellery store in Kuwait in 1981. The shares of Atlas Jewellery are traded on BSE. On Monday, the share worth was Rs 33.50/share, down 1.81% from Friday.