ED attaches Rs 58 crore properties belonging to wife of Bhushan Steel promoter

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The ED attached movable and immovable properties of Ritu Singal, wife of Neeraj Singal, who is the promoter of erstwhile Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL), amounting to about Rs 58.34 crore, an official said Thursday.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Delhi Zonal Office, has attached the assets in connection with money laundering linked to diversion of funds from erstwhile BSL in the garb of genuine transactions, causing a loss to the tune of Rs 11,446.73 crore to financial institutions, the ED said in a statement.

The assets were attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on June 24, 2026, said the statement.

The attached properties comprise immovable assets in the form of land and a part of residential property, situated in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and movable properties in the form of equity shares and bank balances held in the name of Ritu Singal, the ED said.

The ED initiated an investigation based on a criminal complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) against erstwhile Bhushan Steel Limited, Neeraj Singal and others. The said complaint had invoked scheduled offences under the PMLA, 2002.

The ED investigation revealed that Neeraj Singal and associates diverted funds from erstwhile BSL in the garb of genuine transactions, causing loss to the tune of Rs 11,446.73 crore to financial institutions, the ED said.

Investigation revealed that the Zinc Ingots, purchased from Hindustan Zinc Limited, which were meant for the plants of erstwhile BSL, were sold out of books in the open market by the accused, the ED said.

This resulted in cash payments being received by the accused. Such cash generated from out-of-books sale of Zinc Ingots from erstwhile BSL was used for availing accommodation entries of bogus Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) from various penny stock companies, the ED said.

The siphoning of cash by way of out-of-books sale of Zinc Ingots from erstwhile BSL was also corroborated with the fact of huge unaccounted cash deposited in the bank accounts during the relevant period, it said.

Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached assets worth Rs 61.38 crore on November 8, 2021 and Rs 367 crore on March 6, 2024.

A Prosecution Complaint dated August 8, 2023 and a Supplementary Prosecution Complaint dated March 7, 2024 have been filed against Neeraj Singal, Ritu Singal and other accused persons, and the PMLA Court has taken cognisance of these, said the ED.

–IANS

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