Mumbai, Jan 8 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken into custody a businessman suspected of misappropriating a loan obtained from a public sector enterprise intended for the establishment of a waste-to-energy facility for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and engaging in money laundering.

The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office apprehended Prateek Kanakia, the Chief Executive Officer of The Green Billions Limited (TGBL), on January 1, 2026, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of this ongoing case.

On the same day, Kanakia was presented before the Special Court (PMLA) in Mumbai and was ordered to remain in ED custody until January 1, 2026.

An official statement indicated that the ED's investigation uncovered that the accused had fraudulently secured and redirected a loan of Rs 50 crore from Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Government of India public sector undertaking, thus causing significant financial loss to BECIL.

In 2018, the Pune Municipal Corporation issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) for establishing and operating a waste-to-energy facility. The contract was awarded in 2019 to Variate Consultants, followed by a concession agreement between PMC and Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed for this initiative in 2020.

Subsequently, The Green Billions Limited, led by the accused, signed a binding term sheet to acquire the SPV and solicited BECIL to form a consortium, wherein BECIL would serve as the Project Management Consultant and financial partner for the PMC project.

In 2022, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) approved a short-term loan of Rs 80 crore to BECIL, out of which Rs 50 crore was subsequently approved by BECIL to TGBL, according to the statement.

The ED's investigation has indicated that Prateek Kanakia, via his private firm and allegedly in collusion with former BECIL employees, fraudulently accessed the credit facility under the guise of the Pune waste-to-energy project using forged and fabricated documentation, all while failing to meet necessary conditions.

The agency asserted that the loan funds were later diverted and misappropriated, with no work having commenced at the project site, as verified by Pune Municipal Corporation officials.

According to the ED, the crime proceeds were utilized by the accused for personal expenditures and to sustain an extravagant lifestyle, which included the use of luxury vehicles and the leasing and renovation of upscale residences in prime locations in Mumbai and Delhi, thereby creating a misleading image of financial success.