ED questions Rose Valley chief on collections

KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is planning further clampdown on Rose Valley after the agency found new leads in the case that allegedly involves collections to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. Though the agency has refrained from ‘coercive action’ following an interim order of Calcutta high court, probe revealed that the group was allegedly taking steps to go out of the radar of the agencies.
ED officials on Monday interrogated Rose Valley boss Gautam Kundu for four hours over probe findings so far. The investigators wanted to know how much he had collected through several schemes run by the group. Apart from that, they also wanted to know the amount of commission he has been paying to agents. Sources said Kundu has been given 10-days to submit all the documents.
Coming out of the CGO complex in Salt Lake, Kundu said he had come to submit some documents regarding his investments. “The agencies have been continuing investigation for quite some time and we are cooperating with them,” he said. When asked about alleged meetings with political bigwigs, Kundu refused to answer. “I have not made any political donations,” he told the media persons.
Rose Valley has been buying properties for some of the group companies. The group, which has presence in sectors like hospitality and real estate, has already renamed some of its properties. “Off late, the company started to change names of its properties to dupe sleuths,” said an ED official. Investigators believe that though the group has a large asset base, it’s not matching with the collections of the company so far. According to ED estimates, till March 2013, Rs 7,000 crore was outstanding with two Rose Valley group companies — Rose Valley Real Estate & Construction Ltd and Rose Valley Hotels and Entertainment Ltd. According to investigators, so far, around Rs 295.88 crore has been attached and seized from 2,808 bank accounts of Rose Valley. Rose Valley’s lawyer Arup Bhattacharya said the ‘no coercive’ action against the company is still in force. “My client has agreed in the court to honour ED’s summons and appear before them.”