New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) executed coordinated searches at roughly 17 locations spread across Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru as part of a fresh probe into alleged breaches of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) involving McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd (MBECL).
The raids targeted premises associated with the company, individuals linked to its recent acquisition and a network of allied entities. The operation follows MBECL’s entry into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), where BTL EPC’s resolution plan received approval.
Investigators are now scrutinising the origin of the capital used to secure control of MBECL, as well as a series of financial movements tied to the firm. A key question under examination is whether the insolvency framework was leveraged to facilitate an indirect re‑acquisition by parties who would otherwise be barred under Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.
Materials seized—including documents, ledgers and electronic records—are being analysed to piece together the transaction chain. To date, none of the individuals or organisations whose properties were searched have issued a public response.
