ED Raids 10 Places Including The Residence Of SP Leader Vinay Shankar Tiwari, Property Worth Rs 72 Crore Seized

Lucknow, February 24 (TNA) The Enforcement Directorate team has taken action as part of the investigation into the case of bank loan embezzlement against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Vinay Shankar Tiwari and his property worth Rs 72 crore has been confiscated.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided 10 locations in 5 cities of Gangotri Enterprises, the company of former MLA and SP national secretary Vinay Shankar Tiwari, who had embezzled Rs 754 crore from banks. Five locations including the office of Gangotri Enterprises have been raided in the metropolitan area of Lucknow. The investigation continued till late night in Tiwari's ancestral residence in Gorakhpur, the company's office in Noida and the director's residence, as well as in Ahmedabad and Gurugram.

The investigating agency has recovered a large number of documents of movable and immovable properties from these locations. Evidence of the creation of fake companies has also been found. On November 17, ED seized 27 properties worth Rs 72.08 crore from Tiwari's companies. Gangotri Enterprises had taken a loan (CC limit) of Rs 1129.44 crore from a consortium of banks, out of which Rs 754 crore was not returned.

On the complaint of the bank, CBI had registered a case against the directors, promoters and guarantors of Gangotri Enterprises and its associate companies. Based on CBI's FIR, ED had also registered a case of money laundering two years ago and started an investigation. After this, in November 2023, Tiwari's properties in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj and Lucknow were seized.

Gangotri Enterprises, along with its promoters, directors, and guarantors, had availed credit facilities worth Rs 1129.44 crore from a consortium of seven banks led by the Bank of India. Later he diverted this amount to other companies. Due to this, banks suffered a loss of Rs 754.24 crore. After this, the company's bank accounts were declared NPA.

The team reached Tiwari's house at five in the morning, the action lasted for 12 hours and took away the documents. The ED team raided the ancestral home of former minister Harishankar Tiwari's son Vinay Shankar in Dharamshala, Gorakhpur at 5 am on Friday.

The team also interrogated Harishankar Tiwari's elder son Bhishma Shankar, who was present at the residence. At six in the evening, the team returned with many documents. After the team left, SP workers expressed anger over the action and raised anti-government slogans.