Trouble! ED traces Rs 55 lakh of bank scam funds from Sanjay Raut's wife

Mumbai, Jan 2: In a major turn of events, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties of a businessman in a bank scam where the financial trail leads to Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut's wife, Varsha. The ED attached properties worth Rs 72 crore of businessman Pravin Raut in the HDIL-PMC Bank money laundering case and said Rs 55 lakh of that money was transferred to Varsha Raut through Pravin Raut's wife Madhuri.

 

 

A press release issued by the ED on Friday said, "Investigation also revealed that Pravin Raut paid Rs 1.6 crore to his wife Madhuri from the proceeds of crime. Out of the said money, Madhuri Raut transferred Rs 55 lakh (Rs 50 lakh on December 23, 2010, and Rs 5 lakh on March 15, 2011) as an interest-free loan to Varsha Raut. The amount was further utilized for the purchase of a flat in Dadar (East). The investigation further revealed that Varsha and Madhuri are partners in Avani Construction. Varsha Raut has received Rs 12 lakh from this entity (as overdrawn capital converted to loan) on a contribution of mere Rs 5,625. The loan amount of Rs 12 lakh is still outstanding."

 

According to the ED's release, Rs 95 crore has been siphoned off through HDIL by Pravin Raut in active conspiracy and connivance with various persons. The source of the funds were illegal availed loans etc by HDIL from PMC Bank. The ED has called Varsha Raut for her statement in the case on January 5. Varsha Raut was asked to join the investigation on December 29. but she did not appear before the agency.

 

She was first summoned on December 11. This is the third summons issued to her after she skipped the earlier two on health grounds. It must be noted that if a person skips three summons in a row then the ED can take legal and judicial action against the person. In September last year, the RBI had capped the withdrawal limit and restricted the activities of the PMC Bank after an alleged fraud of Rs 4,355 crore came to light.

 

In October, the ED had later seized and identified movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 3,830 crore owned by Housing Development Infrastructures Ltd (HDIL) in connection with the case and its promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, its former chairman Waryam Singh and ex-managing director Joy Thomas. The summons has been issued to her under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

 

The Shiv Sena, which is part of Maharashtra's ruling alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) along with the NCP and the Congress, had earlier alleged that central probe agencies have been targeting them unfairly.

 

Former BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who recently joined Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has also been summoned by the ED for questioning on December 30 in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune's Bhosri area.