The ED's Bhopal Zonal Office filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) on January 28, 2026, against Mark Pius Karari, the former Branch Manager of Punjab National Bank in Ashta, Sehore district, and four others. (File Photo)
More than a year after the suicide of Madhya Pradesh businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife Neha, over alleged harassment by enforcement agencies, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint in the money laundering probe, alleging Parmar availed fraudulent loans of over Rs 6 crore under two government schemes.
The ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) on January 28, 2026, against Mark Pius Karari, the former Branch Manager of Punjab National Bank in Ashta, Sehore district, and four others. The complaint was lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, before the Special Court (PMLA).
The court has since issued notices to the accused. According to the ED’s investigation, Manoj Parmar, who was at the centre of the scandal, allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated fraud scheme with the aid of bank officials. The probe revealed that Parmar fraudulently secured 18 loans of Rs 6.2 crore in 2016 under two government initiatives: the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana (CMYUY). Of this amount, Rs 6.01 crore was disbursed using “fabricated applicants, forged documents, and fabricated quotations.”
ED officials stated that standard loan sanction protocols were ignored, including bypassing second-level approvals and exceeding the branch manager’s authorised financial limits.
“Field inspections by bank officials later confirmed that no business units were ever set up, and many supposed borrowers denied applying for or receiving any loans, showing that the schemes meant for self-employment were grossly misused,” an ED official said.
The agency alleged the “fraudulently availed loan funds were diverted into accounts of firms controlled by Manoj Parmar and his close associates”.
“From these accounts, the funds were moved between multiple linked entities to hide their source, withdrawn in cash, and partly used for buying properties in the names of Manoj Parmar and Others,” the official said.
Firms controlled by Parmar and others were allegedly used as layers to circulate the money and project false business activity.
“This systematic routing, layering and cash withdrawal of government-subsidized loan funds clearly shows deliberate diversion of public money, forming Proceeds of Crime,” the agency submitted.
In a prior move, the ED had provisionally attached 12 immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 2.08 crore in Ashta and Sehore, all linked to Parmar and his network. The case stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Bhopal, charging Parmar, Karari, and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CBI later submitted a charge-sheet, prompting the ED to launch its parallel money laundering inquiry. The latest developments come against the backdrop of Parmar’s tragic end.
On December 13, 2024, Parmar and Neha were found dead at their Sehore residence in an apparent suicide. The couple had returned from a temple visit in Susner the previous night with their three children. Their eldest son, Jatin, discovered their bodies hanging in their room the next morning and alerted authorities.
Police recovered a five-page suicide note from Parmar, though its contents have not been publicly disclosed. Family members had claimed that the couple took their lives due to intense pressure from the ongoing ED investigation.
Just days earlier, on December 5, 2024, ED teams had raided four premises in Sehore and Indore connected to Parmar.
Curated by James Chen
