Mumbai, Feb 11 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai, has provisionally attached assets worth approximately Rs 1.03 crore belonging to Hitesh Kumar Singla, a suspended officer of Bank of India, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an agency statement said on Wednesday.
The attachment also includes bank balances held in mule accounts allegedly used to siphon off proceeds of crime. The Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) was issued on February 9.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ACB Mumbai, against Singla and others under Section 409 of the IPC, Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Singla, who had been absconding, was arrested by the ED on September 17 last year from Ahmedabad Junction Railway Station. Subsequently, a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) was filed before the special PMLA Court in Mumbai. The court took cognisance of the complaint on January 21. He is currently lodged in judicial custody at Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai.
According to ED, the investigation revealed that between May 2023 and July 2025, Singla allegedly fraudulently closed multiple customer accounts — including Term Deposits (TDs), Public Provident Fund (PPF) accounts, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) accounts, Savings Bank (SB) accounts and Current Accounts (CAs) — without authorisation.
The diverted funds were credited to his personal savings accounts maintained with the State Bank of India (SBI), the ED statement said.
The probe further found that Singla targeted nearly 230 customer accounts of Bank of India, primarily belonging to vulnerable categories such as senior citizens, minors, deceased account holders, and dormant or inoperative accounts, in an apparent attempt to avoid detection.
The total amount allegedly siphoned off is estimated at around Rs 16.80 crore. The ED stated that the funds were subsequently diverted into stock market investments, real-money gaming platforms, cryptocurrency transactions and personal expenditures.
Further investigation into the matter is underway.
–IANS
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