ED attaches assets worth over Rs 36 cr in J&K health insurance case

Srinagar, Jan 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached properties totalling over Rs 36 crore in connection with the case involving M/s Reliance General Insurance Pvt. Ltd. (RGIPL) and M/s Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Private Limited (TRBL). The case pertains to the health insurance of employees in Jammu and Kashmir.
An ED spokesman disclosed that the investigation is linked to the awarding of the Mediclaim Insurance Policy tender for J&K Government Employees, PSUs’ employees, and pensioners to Reliance General Insurance. This award allegedly took place in collusion with Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Limited (Insurance Broker) by the J&K Finance Department.
The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR filed by the CBI, ACB, Srinagar, citing offenses under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code. The complaint, filed by the J&K government, implicated Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Limited, Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, and unidentified public servants and private individuals.
The spokesman revealed that the investigation uncovered deliberate irregularities in the awarding of the tender by the J&K Finance Department. TRBL was allegedly selected through a questionable process without meeting essential eligibility criteria. Furthermore, the ED found that the IRDAI registered insurance company, awarded through TRBL, had been blacklisted by the Government of Chhattisgarh. Despite having minimal presence and experience in J&K, the company received Rs 63.53 crores, with Rs 17 crores being fraudulently disbursed for medical claims by M/s RGIPL.
The ED has now attached land worth Rs 4.04 crores in the name of M/s Globus Trade Links Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of TRBL, and Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) amounting to Rs 32.53 crores related to M/s Reliance General Insurance Pvt. Ltd.
The spokesperson concluded that further investigation is underway. On a related note, the ED provisionally attached properties worth approximately Rs 5 crores on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the case of Mohammad Akbar Bhat and others related to terrorist activities in the Valley.