Bank loan fraud: Lucknow court convicts 3 for money laundering

New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) A special PMLA court in Lucknow convicted three individuals for money laundering in a case of bank loan fraud of over Rs 3 crore, and ordered the confiscation of assets worth Rs 16 lakh attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during the probe.

The court of special judge Rahul Prakash passed the order on June 30.

The ED investigation, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a 2006 CBI FIR against the late Amarnath Sahu and others. Sahu served as a manager at the Jankipuram branch of the Allahabad Bank in Lucknow from September 15, 2003, to December 10, 2005.

The CBI alleged that Sahu disbursed overdrafts and loans on the basis of "fake" documents and violated banking norms. An internal inquiry conducted by the bank found a loss of Rs 3.20 crore, according to the case documents accessed by PTI.

The ED registered a criminal case under the PMLA in 2010 and filed a chargesheet against the accused in October 2017. The charges were framed in the case in September 2024.

The court convicted the three accused -- Saurabh Sahu, Ashwani Kumar and Mamta Sinha -- on money laundering charges under various sections of the PMLA.

Proceedings against Amarnath Sahu were abated as he died during trial, the order said.

The court sentenced the three convicted individuals to three years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000 each. It added that in default of payment of the fine, the accused will undergo an additional six months of imprisonment.

The court also ordered the confiscation of immovable properties worth Rs 16,42,248. These assets belonged to Mamta Sinha and were attached by the ED during the investigation, as noted in the order. PTI NES MPL MPL