On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate raided the premises of businessman Sujit Patkar in connection with Rs 1,034 crore re-development land scam. Sujit Patkar is a business associate of the daughters of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, Purvashi and Vidhita, in their wine company Magpie DFS Pvt. Ltd since the last 16 years.
According to the reports, the ED is probing Magpie DFS Pvt Ltd and its director Patkar, a close associate of the now arrested Pravin Raut, for the alleged fraud in the development of a plot in Goregaon in suburban Mumbai. The probe agency has searched the office and residence of Patkar as well as the premises of Raut.
This is a day after the ED arrested Pravin Raut, the former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd in Mumbai. On February 1, the ED recorded Pravin Raut’s statement under section 50 of PMLA and sent him to custody for eight days, till February 9.
The ED has initiated investigation under the provisions of PMLA on the basis of the FIR registered by Economic Offences Wing. The agency informed that Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd had entered into a tripartite agreement with the tenants and MHADA to redevelop Patra Chawl.
It is important to note that Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary company of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), which is already accused of a Rs 4,300 crore fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. Reports mention that the Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd was involved in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl at Goregaon that had 672 tenants in tenements on 47 acres of land belonging to Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA).
While ED is now probing the role of Sujit Patkar in the case, it is reported that Parvin Raut illegally sold FSI to various builders for Rs 1,034 crore with the help of Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, Directors of Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt Ltd. This was done without constructing the rehab flats and flats to be handed over to MHADA, which was the pre-requisite.
The trio also obtained bank loan in addition to Rs 1,034 crore received from various builders. According to the reports, ED suspects that a part of the proceeds of the illegal sale of the FSI may have been invested in Magpie DFS Pvt Ltd, where Sanjay Raut’s daughters Purvashi and Vidhita are directors.
The investigation by the ED also revealed that Pravin Raut being Director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd played an active role in the redevelopment project and the Wadhwans managed to divert the proceeds of crime more than Rs 1,000 crore by harming the interest of 672 tenants and buyers.
Earlier in year 2010, Pravin Raut had received Rs 95 crore in his bank account in the guise of sale of equity and land deal though the company was not able to complete the project and had not generated any income. The Economic Offences Wing had then first filed an FIR to probe the allegations made in the re-development of the chawl.
According to the agency, Rs 95 crore amount was routed in Raut’s account from HDIL sourced by illegally availed loans from the PMC Bank. The accounts showed that HDIL had given money to Raut for acquiring land in the Palghar area.
The agency had also questioned Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut last year in connection with the PMC Bank case and her purported links with Pravin Raut’s wife. It had found that Raut transferred around Rs 1.6 crore to his wife who is a business partner of Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut. Of this Rs 1.6 crore, an amount of Rs 55 crore was allegedly transferred to Varsha Raut’s account as an interest-free loan. This money was then allegedly invested by Varsha in buying a flat at Dadar.