India News | Covid Funds Fraud: ED Attaches over Rs 5 Cr Assets of Hemkunt Foundation
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Assets worth more than Rs 5 crore of Hemkunt Foundation located in Madhya Pradesh have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged diversion of public funds collected in the name of Covid in 2021, the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday.
New Delhi, May 11 (PTI) Assets worth more than Rs 5 crore of Hemkunt Foundation located in Madhya Pradesh have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged diversion of public funds collected in the name of Covid in 2021, the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday.
In a statement, the agency said the properties, provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), include agricultural land and buildings located in the state's Khandwa district.
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They are worth Rs 5.37 crore, Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.
This is a fresh attachment of assets order in the case as the agency had earlier attached a land worth Rs 43 crore in Gurugram and fixed deposits (FDs) of Rs 17.32 crore of the foundation.
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"Hemkunt Foundation collected huge donations to the tune of Rs 77.10 crore during the second wave of COVID-19 from large corporates and general public on the pretext of providing relief to people suffering from COVID-19," the agency said.
"Hemkunt Foundation diverted most of the funds thus collected towards the assets of the foundation such as in FDs and purchasing a land in Gurugram and construction activities," it said.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Delhi Police's Special Cell which alleged that the Foundation raised crores of rupees from individuals and corporates in the name of Covid relief and oxygen supply during the peak of the pandemic's second wave but the donations were siphoned off and utilised for activities for personal gains.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)