ED attaches Rs 10.63 crore assets in alleged J&K Bank PMEGP loan fraud
The ED has provisionally attached 11 properties worth Rs 10.63 crore in Kashmir, alleging PMEGP loans were taken through dummy borrowers and fake invoices with J&K Bank officials.
Key points
- The ED's Srinagar office has provisionally attached 11 lands and buildings in Srinagar and Bandipora districts under the PMLA.
- The ED says it has traced Rs 11.37 crore of alleged proceeds of crime, and that PMEGP loans of about Rs 32 crore at two branches turned bad.
- The attachment must be confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority; the ED says its investigation is continuing.
Photo: Spamguy at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 (cropped). Representational image.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 11 lands and buildings worth Rs 10.63 crore in Srinagar and Bandipora districts of Kashmir in a case of alleged misuse of the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), a government scheme for loans to small businesses. The ED said on 9 November 2026 that the assets are held by suppliers-cum-brokers and an official of J&K Bank.
What Happened
The ED's Srinagar Zonal Office began its money-laundering investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI in Srinagar. According to the ED, PMEGP loans were taken in the names of dummy borrowers, using fake invoices of non-existent firms, by private persons acting as brokers in criminal conspiracy with officials of the Sumbal and Gamud Gadkhud branches of J&K Bank. The CBI registered a fresh FIR in the matter in June 2026, the ED said.
A survey of the two branches under Section 16 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) found 270 term loan accounts and 270 working capital accounts under the scheme that had turned non-performing assets (NPAs), meaning repayments had stopped. The NPA amount was about Rs 32 crore, according to the ED.
The ED alleges that borrowers were induced to take the loans, and that their KYC documents were used with fake invoices of firms registered in the names of brokers or their family members to get the loans sanctioned. It says it has so far traced proceeds of crime of Rs 11.37 crore, which it alleges were moved through multiple accounts and partly used to build or renovate assets held in the names of family members. The properties were attached under Section 5(1) of the PMLA.
These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.
What It Means
A provisional attachment stops the owners from selling or transferring the properties while the case proceeds. It must be confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority, and the ED said further investigation is under way.
According to the ED, borrowers' own KYC documents were used to get these loans sanctioned. A bank customer who finds a loan taken in their name without their knowledge can complain to the bank and then through RBI's complaint portal at https://cms.rbi.org.in.
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Sources & Citations
- Enforcement Directorate press release — Enforcement Directorate