Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A special PMLA court in Bhopal has convicted the wife of a deceased officer of the Madhya Pradesh government on money laundering charges in a case linked to possession of disproportionate assets against the couple, the Enforcement Directorate said. The court sentenced Bharti Bhasne to undergo three-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000 after finding her guilty under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said.
It also ordered the confiscation of attached assets (life insurance policies) worth more than Rs 1.5 crore of the woman, the ED said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The investigation pertains to the ED registering a PMLA case against Bhasne and her husband Jitendra Kumar Bhasne, a former superintending engineer in the Public Works Department (PWD) of the state government, on the basis of a Lokayukta Police FIR filed against them under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for acquisition of disproportionate assets during the check period from 01.06.1998 to 04.05.2010, it said.
The ED said Jitendra Kumar Bhasne died "due to illness" before it filed a charge sheet against the couple. The agency, hence, filed the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against Bharti Bhasne in April, 2018. The agency said its probe found that during the "stipulated check period", Bharti Bhasne invested an amount of Rs 2,76,10,844 in her name and in the name of her family members.
This amount has been called the "proceeds of crime" under the PMLA by the ED. It said Bharti Bhasne, out of this amount, used Rs 1,58,63,223 for "acquisition" of movable properties in the form of life insurance policies. These policies were attached by the agency during the course of investigation. (PTI)
