The Enforcement Directorate today (2 July) has reportedly attached the assets of actors Dino Morea, Sanjay Khan, and DJ Aqeel (Aqeel Abdulkhalil Bachooali), and late Congress leader Ahmed Patel's son-in-law Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui, in the Sterling Biotech group money laundering case.
The ED added that a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach their assets, which reportedly amount to Rs 8.79 crore. PTI reported that Khan's assets amount to Rs 3 crore, Morea's are valued at Rs 1.4 crore, Siddiqui's assets are for Rs 2.4 crore, and DJ Aqeel's assets are for Rs 1.98 crore.
The ED also informed that Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara, promoters of the Sterling Biotech group, have been declared 'fugitive economic offenders' by a special court. Along with the brothers, Deepti Sandesara has also been identified as an accused.
Actors Dino Morea and DJ Aqeel were called in for questioning by the ED for the alleged bank fraud case in 2019. At the time, PTI had reported that the agency believed that the two had been paid some money by the company.
Officials had said that the payments occurred during 2011-2012 when the two attended events organized by the Sandesaras.
Vadodara-based Sterling Biotech and its promoters have been accused of cheating Indian banks to the amount of Rs 14,500 crore, ANI had reported the ED saying. A probe conducted by the ED revealed that the company had also allegedly taken a loan of approximately Rs 9000 crore from foreign branches on Indian banks.
(With inputs from PTI)
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