ED Facilitates Restitution of ₹16 Crore Worth Assets to PNB in Ghanshyamdas Gems Fraud Case

The Directorate of Enforcement, Hyderabad Zonal Office, has successfully completed the restitution of five attached immovable properties to Punjab National Bank in a major bank fraud and money laundering case involving M/s Ghanshyamdas Gems & Jewels and its managing partner Sanjay Agarwal. The properties, attached during the PMLA investigation, were valued at approximately ₹2.55 crore at the time of the FIR in 2011 and have a present market value of about ₹16 crore.

The ED probe was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in October 2011, alleging that Sanjay Agarwal fraudulently induced State Bank of India to release 250 kg of gold using forged bank guarantees purportedly issued by PNB. Following the exposure of the fraud, the accused allegedly sold the mortgaged gold stock in cash and diverted the proceeds through multiple firms, family accounts and benami properties.

The investigation also revealed the use of a fake identity and overseas travel for laundering proceeds of crime. ED had earlier arrested Sanjay Agarwal in February 2022 and provisionally attached nine immovable properties. Upon an application filed by PNB under Section 8(8) of the PMLA, the Special PMLA Court at Nampally, Hyderabad, allowed restitution on 19 January 2026, paving the way for restoration of assets to the victim bank.