November 5 2018
A residential chawl, a slum rehabilitation centre and a vacant building. That’s what bank audit teams found at addresses of some companies owned by the Sandesaras of Sterling Group — from where they ran a flourishing business, at least on paper. Many addresses were also fictitious.
The Sandesaras, now said to be in Nigeria, are accused of defrauding banks and laundering more than Rs 8,100 crore through almost 200 shell companies. Apart from forensic audits by banks, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has listed assets owned by the Sandesaras, entities they set up in tax havens and detailed the seven-stage modus operandi of borrowing from banks and diverting funds.