Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Nov 8: In a dramatic twist to the multi-crore loan-fraud scandal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 2.85 crore belonging to Roshan Saldanha, a Mangaluru-based businessman accused of masterminding a massive financial racket.
Officials from the ED’s Mangaluru sub-zonal Office swooped in earlier this week, seizing a residential property and several bank accounts held by Saldanha and his family members. The move follows an extensive probe into allegations that Saldanha duped wealthy investors and entrepreneurs across the country by offering them access to “exclusive” high-value loans.
“The accused lured potential investors with promises of facilitating loans worth hundreds of crores,” an ED source. “He collected advance payments of Rs 5 to Rs 10 crore from each client, claiming the funds were required to process the loans. None of the promised amounts ever materialised,” the source said.
The ED investigation stems from FIRs registered against Saldanha, his wife Daphne Neethu, and several associates for cheating and criminal conspiracy. Preliminary findings suggest the network swindled over Rs 200 crore from victims, many of whom are said to be high-profile industrialists and business magnates.
Acting on complaints from two businessmen, Mangaluru Police arrested Saldanha on July 17. The ED subsequently initiated a parallel money-laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to trace and freeze assets acquired through the illicit scheme.
The attached assets—valued at Rs 2.85 crore —are suspected to be the proceeds of crime. Sources indicate that the agency is now tracking a wider money trail that could reveal further layers of the operation. “This attachment is only the beginning,” said an official familiar with the case. “The investigation is continuing, and more properties could be seized once the full extent of the fraud is established,” the official said.
The case, which has stunned Mangaluru’s business circles, underscores growing scrutiny by the ED on white-collar financial crimes in coastal Karnataka.