© Reuters.
Pavan Kuchana, Nirmal Kotecha, and Kishore Tapadia, associated with Taksheel Solutions Limited, were arrested on Wednesday over allegations of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) scam that raised Rs 80.50 crore through the sale of 55,00,000 shares. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took them into custody until October 25, following a special court order in Hyderabad.
The trio were apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) due to a complaint lodged by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The complaint accused Taksheel Solutions Limited, its promoters, and directors of IPO irregularities. They allegedly inflated the company’s revenue through circular transactions to facilitate the IPO.
Kotecha reportedly arranged Rs 34.50 crore in Inter-Corporate Deposits (ICDs) for Taksheel, which were repaid post-IPO from the proceeds and then allegedly laundered. A significant portion of this amount was siphoned off to entities in the United States owned by Kuchana. Additionally, Rs 30.50 crore was transferred to entities based in Singapore and Hong Kong associated with Kotecha.
Investigations also revealed that Rs 23 crore intended for software purchases was redirected to Kotecha’s entities based in Hong Kong and Dubai. Furthermore, Rs 18 crore was allocated for IPO-related expenses including Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) development expenses, salaries, and vendor payments.
The ED continues its investigation into these allegations while the accused remain in custody.
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