MUMBAI: In an important development, a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on June 25 allowed restoration of assets ₹952 crore attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case against Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), its group companies, and associated entities. The property – Surat-based plant of Vadraj Cement Limited – would be restored to Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd, which has taken over the defunct company through a resolution process.
The Mumbai zonal office of the agency initiated investigation under the PML Act against IL&FS and associated entities for their alleged involvement in the generation and laundering of proceeds of crime (POC).
During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Vadraj Cement Limited (formerly ABG Cement Ltd), a group company of ABG, had availed financial assistance from IL&FS Financial Services Ltd (IFIN), which was subsequently declared as a non-performing asset, said agency sources. The investigation established that loans amounting to ₹952 crore were obtained fraudulently and were identified as POC, they added.
Accordingly, the immovable properties of Vadraj Cement Ltd, comprising its cement plant in Surat, were provisionally attached by ED on January 21, 2020. The attachment was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority on August 5, 2021. A prosecution complaint or charge sheet in the money laundering case was also filed before the special PMLA court in Mumbai, praying for the confiscation of properties attached as POC.
According to ED sources, Punjab National Bank was the major lender to Vadraj Cement Ltd with an admitted claim of ₹2,122 crore. The defunct cement company’s other major lenders include Union Bank ( ₹1,620 crore), Indian Overseas Bank ( ₹1,419 crore), Central Bank of India ( ₹1,391 crore) and JC Flower ARC ( ₹677 crore).
Subsequently, M/s Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nirma Group and the successful resolution applicant under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), filed an application before the special PMLA court seeking restoration of the attached property to facilitate implementation of the resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai, on April 1, 2025.
Under the scheme approved by the NCLT, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd will pay ₹1,706 crore to Vadraj Cement’s financial creditors in lieu of its acquisition of the defunct company. Considering the intent of the PMLA to restitute or restore the POC to bonafide legitimate claimants, the ED submitted no objection before the special court for the release of property attached to the bonafide legitimate claimants.
Based on ED’s NOC, the special court on June 25 passed an order to restitute the attached immovable properties to the bonafide claimants – Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd, subject to filing an undertaking to return or restore the property or its value as may be directed in future. The court has also instructed ED to prepare a detailed inventory of the property prior to handing over its possession to the successful resolution applicant.
