Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has listed several major cases where the Directorate of Enforcement has from time to time attached properties of individuals and companies connected to economic offense cases.
Replying to the debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants – First Batch for 2024-2025, the finance minister apprised the Lok Sabha Tuesday evening that the central enforcement agency has successfully restored properties worth around Rs 22,280 crores — only the major cases included.
Of those restored, the complete attached property worth Rs 14,131.6 crores of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya has been restored to the public sector banks, the minister said in Lok Sabha.
In the case of Nirav Modi, another fugitive, Rs 1,052.58 crores has been restored to the public and private sector banks.
In National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam, Rs 17.47 crores have been obtained and given to the banks, SRS Group worth Rs 20.15 crores, Rose Valley Group worth Rs 19.40 crores, Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd worth Rs 185.13 crores, Nowhera Sheikh and Others (Heera Group) worth Rs 226 crores, Naidu Amrutesh Reddy and Others worth Rs 12.73 crores.
What Else Did FM Sitharaman Said?
Properties worth Rs 2,565.90 crores have been restored related to Mehul Choksi and others, she said.
Citing these numbers of attached properties and subsequently handing them over to the banks, the finance minister said that her government has not left anybody who committed economic offences.
“It is important to recognise that we have not left anybody in economic offences; we are after them. We will ensure that money that has to go to the banks goes back,” she said in Lok Sabha during the one-hour-long reply.
Earlier in her address, the Union Minister expressed optimism about economic growth, saying that the sluggish figures of second-quarter GDP growth was a “temporary blip.”
She said the country’s GDP growth averaged 8.3% over the last three years which demonstrates resilience despite global uncertainties. She added that the second quarter was a challenging time not just for India but for the countries around the globe.
The Indian economy grew by 5.4% in real terms in the July-September quarter of the current financial year 2024-25. The quarterly growth was quite lower than RBI’s forecast of 7%. Indian economy grew 6.7% in the April-June quarter, similarly lower than RBI forecast.
