ED arrests AHPTPL chairman in bank fraud case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said that it has arrested Manoharlal Satramdas Agicha Chairman of Associate High Pressure Technologies Private Limited (AHPTPL), who has been absconding and changing phone and SIM cards in a bank fraud case causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 149.89 crore to the bank.

The ED said that Agicha was arrested on November 10 and he was sent to agency's custody for three days by a Mumbai Special court.

The ED probe had found that loan amount was illegally diverted by way of fictitious Inland Letters of Credit, bogus unsecured loans and commissions to related entities along with other methods.

"In this case 9 searches had already been conducted by ED in Mumbai, Ahemedabad, Kandla and Pune and Ramchand Kotumal Issrani, Managing Director of AHPTPL was earlier arrested by ED on August 8 and currently he is in judicial custody,” the ED said.

The ED had filed a chargesheet on October 4.

Agicha had been absconding during the investigation and had not appeared before ED despite numerous summons hindering the investigation.

"Meanwhile, Intelligence was being gathered for some time to trace Agicha after he had been changing phones and SIM cards frequently. Finally, on November 10 a residential premise in Pune was searched where he had been hiding to abscond from the criminal proceedings and was arrested.

ED had registered a case on the basis of FIR registered by CBI against Associate High Pressure Technologies Pvt. Ltd and its directors and shareholders.