ED arrests Maha businessman in fraudulent FSI linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the sale of FSI of a plot by a firm, linked to him, that is a subsidiary company of the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd.

New Delhi/Mumbai:The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the sale of FSI of a plot by a firm, linked to him, that is a subsidiary company of the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd.

HDIL is under investigation by the ED and a few other agencies in connection with the about Rs 4,300 crore alleged fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. Official sources said the ED arrested Raut following his questioning at its office in Mumbai. The agency had carried out searches at some premises linked to him in Maharashtra on Tuesday. He was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED probe found that a company, identified as Guruashish construction, was given a contract by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to re-develop a 'chawl’ in suburban Mumbai and some alleged irregularities were found related to the sale of the floor space index (FSI) of this project. Guruashish construction is linked to Pravin Raut.

The agency last year had attached Rs 72 crore worth assets of Raut in the PMC Bank money laundering case. It had then said that “probe revealed that Rs 95 crore has been siphoned off through HDIL by one of the accused Pravin Raut in active conspiracy and connivance with various persons.” “The source of the funds were illegal availed loans/advances by HDIL from PMC Bank. There was no document or agreement in support of these payments made to Pravin Raut,” the ED had alleged in a statement.

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It said, “as per the ledger of HDIL, the funds were given to Pravin Raut for acquiring land in 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 said that Pravin Raut “paid an amount of Rs 1.6 crore to his wife Madhuri Pravin Raut from the proceeds of crime. Out of the said money, Madhuri Raut transferred Rs 55 lakh (Rs 50L on December 23, 2010 and Rs 5L on March 15, 2011) as interest-free loan to Varsha Raut, who is the wife of Sanjay Raut.” “The amount was further utilised for purchase of a flat in Dadar East, Mumbai,” the ED had said.

The probe found that Varsha Sanjay Raut and Madhuri Pravin Raut “are partners in Avani Construction and 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 ED had filed a criminal case of money laundering in October, 2020 to probe the alleged loan fraud in the PMC Bank and had booked HDIL, its promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, his son Sarang Wadhawan, its former chairman Waryam Singh and ex-managing director Joy Thomas. It took cognisance of a Mumbai Police economic offences wing FIR against them that charged them for causing “wrongful loss, prima facie to the tune of Rs 4,355 crore to PMC Bank, and corresponding gains to themselves”.

(PTI)