Overview
- The division bench of Justices D K Singh and Venkatesh Naik upheld a 2017 Appellate Tribunal order and quashed ED-confirmed attachments over seven properties mortgaged to Syndicate Bank.
- The court found the Adjudicating Authority failed to issue mandatory notices to the secured creditor under Sections 8(1) and 8(2) of the PMLA before proceeding against the collateral.
- The properties were acquired prior to June 1, 2009, supporting the finding they were not proceeds of crime, and the bank’s SARFAESI recovery before the Debt Recovery Tribunal should not be impeded.
- The case stems from a 2009 CBI probe into alleged conspiracy and cheating at Syndicate Bank’s Mandya branch, with losses of about Rs 12.63 crore cited in court records.
- In separate actions, the ED announced new attachments: Rs 67.79 crore in the Corporate Power Ltd case, taking total restraints there to about Rs 571 crore, and Rs 12.65 crore tied to Hyderabad-based SIVIPL, with both investigations continuing.