New Delhi, Jan 8 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, said on Thursday that it has arrested Prateek Kanakia, the CEO of ‘The Green Billions Limited’ (TGBL), in connection with a money-laundering case involving Rs 47.32 crore.
The ED said Prateek Kanakia was arrested and produced before a Special PMLA Court, which remanded him to ED custody till January 9.
The ED investigation revealed that the accused fraudulently availed and diverted a loan amounting to Rs 50 crore from Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Government of India Public Sector Undertaking, causing wrongful loss to the PSU.
During 2018, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) for setting up and operating a waste-to-energy plant. The project was awarded in 2019 to Variate Consultants. Subsequently, in 2020, a concession agreement was executed between PMC and Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for the project.
Thereafter, The Green Billions Limited entered into a binding term sheet to acquire the said SPV and approached BECIL to form a consortium. Under this arrangement, BECIL was to act as the Project Management Consultant and financial partner for the PMC project. In 2022, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) sanctioned a short-term loan of Rs 80 crore to BECIL, out of which Rs 50 crore was further sanctioned by BECIL to TGBL.
The ED investigation revealed that Prateek Kanakia, through his private firm and in connivance with former employees of BECIL, fraudulently availed the said credit facility in the name of the Pune Waste-to-Energy Project by using forged and fabricated documents and without complying with the stipulated conditions. The funds were diverted and misappropriated, and no work was undertaken at the project site, as confirmed by officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation.
The ED investigation further revealed that the Proceeds of Crime were used by the accused for personal expenses and to maintain a lavish lifestyle. This included the use of luxury vehicles and the renting and renovation of high-end residential premises situated in prime locations of Mumbai and Delhi, thereby projecting a false impression of financial prosperity.
Further investigation is in progress.
