ED has restored assets worth ₹100 crore to the liquidator of Pixion Media Limited on behalf of the banks. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Enforcement Directorate has restored assets worth ₹100 crore to the liquidator of Pixion Media Limited on behalf of the banks. The company’s erstwhile promoters had allegedly cheated the banks and siphoned off the funds for private investments.
Also Read | ED attaches ₹14.49-crore assets in Pixion group case
The ED probe is based on seven cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the group companies, Pixion Media, Pearl Vision, Mahuaa Media, Century Communication, Pixion Vision, and Pearl Studios, related to Prabodh Kumar Tewari for allegedly cheating the banks of ₹657.11 crore.
According to the agency, Mr. Tewari and his family members availed themselves of bank loans and cash credit limits based on forged invoices, audit certificates, insurance policies, etc. and siphoned off the funds, which were routed and used for acquiring various assets in the name of family members and their related entities.
In this case, the ED had conducted searches on December 20, 2019, and subsequently traced several properties linked to Mr. Tewari and others. Assets worth ₹156.33 crore, including commercial and residential properties, besides bank account balances, have been attached so far. The agency also filed a chargesheet against 16 accused persons/entities in September 2021.
“The creditor banks had initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and a liquidator was appointed by the NCLT [National Company Law Tribunal] vide order dated August 22, 2019. The ED had attached properties so as to restore the same to the legitimate claimants [which in the present case were banks],” said the agency.
As the banks, through the liquidator, filed an application in the court for restoration of some of the attached properties, the ED gave its consent. The court accepted the submissions made by the agency and on January 29 restored the properties worth ₹100 crore to the liquidator of Pixion Media and Pearl Vision, it said.
Published – January 30, 2025 09:29 pm IST