ED officer booked for graft in loan app case

ED officer Lalit Bazad booked for allegedly accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe to de-freeze a business account of Finvest Loan App Company

Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked a case against Bengaluru Directorate of Enforcement (ED) officer Lalit Bazad for allegedly accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe to de-freeze a business account of Finvest Loan App Company.

The Bengaluru unit of ED had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) for investigating instant mobile app loan case, which was referred to by the Central Crime Station (CCS), Hyderabad. The probe was entrusted to Manoj Mittal, Deputy Director, ED Bengaluru and Lalit Bazad was assisting him.

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Lalit forwarded emailed summons to Mikhil Innani, who is Managing Director of Apollo Finvest, Mumbai on February 5 asking him to appear at the ED office on February 9. Mikhil appeared at the office with two others on February 9 and met Lalit. The trio took a flight from Bengaluru on the same day evening and reached Mumbai at night.

According to the CBI FIR, it is learnt that Lalit made a WhatsApp call to Mikhil and demanded Rs. 5 lakh to defreeze the bank account frozen by ED. Mikhil, who replied to calls, was compelled to arrange money demanded by Lalit on the same day.

It was revealed that Lalit, who was present in a pub in Bengaluru, shared the location with the phone of a pub waiter. A packet containing Rs.5 lakh was kept in Lalit’s car by pub parking staff. The staff received it from one Manvender Bhati who gave it on instructions of a jewellery businessman Rajendra Jain.

Jain gave cash to Bhati following instructions from Hosur-based granite businessman Suni as per request from Mikhil’s relative. The bank account of Apollo Finvest frozen by ED was finally de-frozen on February 16 after getting the money.

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