ED arrests Parabolic Drugs promoters in Rs 1,626 cr bank fraud case

NEW DELHI: In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Vineet Gupta and Pranav Gupta, the promoters of Parabolic Drugs Pharma Ltd, along with a chartered accountant, sources said.

According to sources, both Pranav and Vineet have been arrested under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency has also arrested S.K. Bansal, a chartered accountant, in connection with the Rs 1,626 crore money laundering case.

The arrest came after the agency on Friday carried out searches at over 15 locations in Delhi, Ambala, Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mumbai in the offices and residential premises linked to the accused.

According to ED sources, the agency has got some fresh leads in the case and a few chartered accountants are also under the financial probe agency’s scanner.

The sources said that some people associated with real estate and liquor business are also under ED’s lens, and the agency will soon verify their association with Parabolic Drugs.

In the coming days, the agency is likely to make some more arrests, the sources said.

The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the CBI against Chandigarh-based Parabolic Drugs for allegedly defrauding a consortium led by the Central Bank of India (CBI) of Rs 1626.74 crore.

Among those booked are Pranav and Vineet Gupta, the co-founders of Ashoka University. Pranav Gupta serves as the Managing Director of Parabolic Drugs, while Vineet is one of the directors in the firm.

Others booked by the CBI include directors Deepali Gupta, Rama Gupta, Jagjit Singh Chahal, Sanjeev Kumar, Vandana Singla, Ishrat Gill, and the firm’s guarantors T.N. Goyal, Nirmal Bansal and J.D. Gupta.

According to CBI officials, the firm was engaged in the manufacturing of drugs. It allegedly defrauded the consortium of banks through criminal conspiracy and forgery, and funneled loans it took for other purposes.