ED Takes Action in Fashion Gold Case: Rs. 19.60 Crore in Assets Attached.
05 August 2024
On August 2, 2024, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Kozhikode provisionally attached assets worth approximately Rs. 19.60 Crore in the Fashion Gold Case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The assets include properties owned by the Fashion Gold Group, its Chairman M.C. Kamaruddin, Managing Director T.K. Pookoyathangal, and their associates.
The ED's investigation began after Kerala Police registered 168 FIRs against the Fashion Gold companies and their leaders. The Crime Branch in Kannur found that the company collected substantial deposits from the public with fraudulent promises of high returns, ultimately siphoning off around Rs. 20 Crore.
It was discovered that Fashion Gold companies were unauthorized to accept public deposits. To circumvent this, they disguised deposits as investments in share capital or advances from directors and shareholders. Many investors, primarily NRIs, were made directors or shareholders to facilitate this scheme. The accused then used company funds to buy properties in their names, which were later sold, with the proceeds being misappropriated.