ED attaches assets of ex-HAL GM, others over embezzlement charges

Assets worth more than Rs 2.39 crore of a former GM (finance) of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and five others have been attached under the anti-money laundering in a probe linked to alleged funds fraud at the state-run aerospace major of the country, the ED said on Saturday.

A provisional order for attaching movable and immovable properties of Bhaben Maitra, who served as the general manager (finance) of HAL, Bipra Charana Maharana, Sadananda Nayak, Jisudan Khosla, Jayaram Garada Jagannath Apat, and late Urdhaba Khosla has been issued under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the central agency said in a statement. The total value of these assets is Rs 2,39,38,681, it said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had booked the accused after taking cognizance of six FIRs filed against them by the Bhubaneswar anti-corruption branch (ACB) unit of the CBI on charges that they ''embezzled an amount of Rs 18.75 crore of HAL by forging documents between 2013-18''.

The agency alleged Maitra and others ''acquired monetary proceeds through the commission of crimes and indulged in criminal activities, generated proceeds of crime, concealed it and acquired various assets to hide their source and projected them as untainted".