ED has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth about Rs 53.95 crore in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank fraud involving Parekh Aluminex Limited and others.
The action was taken by the agency’s Mumbai Zone-I under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. According to the official press release issued on 2 November 2026, the ED had already attached assets valued at approximately Rs 493 crore in the same case. With the latest provisional attachment, the total value of assets attached stands at around Rs 546 crore.
The money laundering investigation was started on the basis of FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Economic Offences Wing, Mumbai, and the Economic Offences Bureau, Mumbai. These FIRs named Parekh Aluminex Limited and others and alleged offences under Section 420 and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, along with Section 13(1)(d) and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The ED has stated that Parekh Aluminex Limited obtained loans from a consortium of banks by submitting inflated stock statements and debtor statements. The loan accounts of the company were later declared non-performing assets for an amount of approximately Rs 2,296 crore. The agency has identified the total proceeds of crime in the case as Rs 2,296.58 crore. This amount, according to the ED, caused wrongful loss to a consortium of banks led by Indian Overseas Bank and sixteen other banks.
A key finding highlighted in the latest press release concerns the J K Shah Group. The ED has said that the group assisted in the diversion of proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 110.54 crore through various entities and persons. The agency has further stated that the group was also one of the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime and had received and enjoyed approximately Rs 70.25 crore. These amounts form part of the total proceeds of crime of Rs 2,296.58 crore identified in the investigation.
The ED has already filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Mumbai. The court has taken cognisance of the offence. The agency has indicated that further investigation in the matter is continuing.
The case has a longer history. An earlier ED press release dated 14 September 2022 recorded that the agency had registered its money laundering case against Parekh Aluminex Limited on 8 March 2018. That release stated that the company had obtained bank loans totalling Rs 2,296.58 crore and that the money was allegedly siphoned off through multiple layers of companies. Funds were said to have been routed into different bank accounts in the form of unsecured loans and investments. The ED had noted at the time that there were no agreements supporting those unsecured loans and investments.
In 2019 the ED had issued two provisional attachment orders. Provisional Attachment Order number 07 of 2019, dated 25 June 2019, covered assets worth Rs 46.97 crore. Provisional Attachment Order number 11 of 2019, dated 11 September 2019, covered assets worth Rs 158.26 crore. The combined value of these two orders was Rs 205.23 crore.
Around the same period, a Press Trust of India report published in June 2019 stated that the ED had searched ten locations connected with Parekh Aluminex. The agency had provisionally attached a 47.39-acre land parcel on the outskirts of Hyderabad valued at approximately Rs 46.97 crore. The company was described as a manufacturer and exporter of aluminium foil containers and rolls. The investigation at that stage had identified alleged diversion of loan funds from manufacturing-related purposes into non-manufacturing activities.
The September 2022 ED press release also recorded searches at premises belonging to Raksha Bullion and Classic Marbles in connection with the same investigation. During those searches the agency reported finding private lockers being operated at the premises of Raksha Bullion. It noted the absence of proper KYC procedures, CCTV cameras and entry-and-exit registers. Out of 761 lockers found at the premises, three belonged to Raksha Bullion. On opening the lockers the ED reported finding 91.5 kilograms of gold and 152 kilograms of silver in two lockers, along with an additional 188 kilograms of silver seized from the premises. The total value of the seized items was stated as Rs 47.76 crore.
Separate reporting in early 2026 focused on another individual connected with the investigation. A Times of India report dated 5 February 2026 stated that the ED had attached properties worth approximately Rs 70 crore in the Parekh Aluminex case. These properties included flats and plots held in the names of Kamlesh Kanungo, his family members and entities allegedly beneficially owned or controlled by him. The cumulative value of assets attached from Kanungo, his wife and related entities was reported at approximately Rs 493 crore at that stage.
A Free Press Journal report published on the same day provided further details. It stated that the ED alleged Kamlesh Kanungo was a principal beneficiary of the proceeds of crime and had received and enjoyed approximately Rs 1,270 crore. The report also mentioned that approximately Rs 355 crore was allegedly routed through five entities linked to businessman Kirti Kedia. An attachment order in June 2025 covering properties worth about Rs 218 crore and another order dated 2 February 2026 covering properties worth Rs 69.84 crore were noted in that coverage. The properties included assets associated with Kanungo, his wife Dimple Kanungo and related entities.
The publicly reported CBI case has also identified the late Amitabh Arun Parekh as the promoter of Parekh Aluminex. Court records from the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai, in an order dated 23 November 2017, noted that Amitabh Parekh had executed a personal guarantee in connection with a facility and that he died on 6 January 2013. A subsequent guarantee was furnished by Deepen Arun Parekh in favour of the consortium of lenders on 10 April 2014.
An Indian Express report dated 30 December 2020 stated that the CBI had filed a chargesheet against Parekh Aluminex and 23 others, including directors and a chartered accountant, in connection with an alleged loss exceeding Rs 297 crore to Indian Overseas Bank. The same report stated that the company had defaulted on loans of approximately Rs 2,500 crore from a consortium of 22 banks and financial institutions. The CBI’s allegations, as reported at the time, included the alleged use of fake and forged purchase invoices and letters of credit, false and fabricated balance sheets, inflated sales and shell companies through which loan proceeds were allegedly circulated.
The NCLT order of November 2017 also recorded details of the lending history in one of the facilities. The first loan sanction dated back to 7 November 2007. The last sanction referred to in the proceedings was dated 27 September 2012. Credit facilities were disbursed in multiple tranches between 2007 and February 2013. The original loan amount in the Kotak-related facility was Rs 75 crore. The facility was restructured under the Corporate Debt Restructuring mechanism in September 2013, with the restructured exposure approximately Rs 100.62 crore. The default date recorded in the petition was 31 January 2015.
A Federal Bank preliminary placement document has also referred to the account. It recorded that the Reserve Bank of India, through a letter dated 9 November 2015, advised the bank to investigate the operations in the Parekh Aluminex account and report fraud if any. Federal Bank stated that its Fraud Monitoring Group decided on 18 January 2016 to report the account as fraud after identifying instances of alleged diversion of funds. The amount involved in Federal Bank’s own matter was given as Rs 47.2 crore.
The latest ED action of November 2026 brings the cumulative attachment figure to approximately Rs 546 crore. The press release notes that assets worth about Rs 493 crore had already been attached before the additional provisional attachment of Rs 53.95 crore. The agency has described the latest properties as both movable and immovable.
The ED has stated that the investigation continues. The prosecution complaint already filed before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Mumbai has been taken cognisance of by the court. The case remains under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate.
