Money laundering probe: Close relative of Iqbal Mirchi quizzed
Alleged deal with NCP leader Praful Patel under lens
A close relative of Iqbal Mirchi is presently grilled in connection with a multi-crore money laundering probe launched by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to identify the beneficiaries of the proceeds of the sales of the properties once held by the late fugitive drug kingpin in Mumbai and elsewhere on the globe.
Top sources told the FPJ the person in question who is presently quizzed by the directorate happens to be the brother of Mirchi's first wife, a British citizen, who held the power of attorney for the multiple assets owned by her late husband, in Mumbai and the United Kingdom (UK).
Sources said that the said person is believed to be the 'custodian' of Mirchi's Mumbai properties for which he entered into negotiations with several developers in the past. "His questioning is vital in identifying the buyers of Mirchi's properties and the illegal channels through which the money had been sent to the fugitive in London," sources said.
Meanwhile, the directorate is in the process of scrutinising the papers in relation to a joint venture entered into between Millennium Developers Pvt Ltd, a realty firm controlled by former Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel and the family members of Mirchi in 2006-07. It is alleged that in furtherance to the JV, the land was used to construct the 15-storied tower, Ceejay House at Dr Annie Besant Road in Worli, an address previously known as 'Shriniketan Building'.
Sources said, as per the deed, Mirchi's first wife's family got 9,000 sq ft carpet area on the third floor of the building and another 5,000 sq ft on the fourth floor ( a total of 14,000 sq ft) in Ceejay House.
The properties were transferred to the fugitive's family in 2007 as per his beneficial interest in the land.
The Deed of Confirmation, which is under the ED lense, features the firm as the ‘owners’, while Mirchi’s first wife and their two sons, including a minor (then), feature as other ‘co-owners’ who constituted 'attorney’, sources said.
The agency suspects that the proceeds of the sales in the transaction had been laundered to Mirchi. Patel, along with Mirchi's wife and her sons, are likely to be summoned for questioning by the ED in connection with the present probe, sources said. It may be recalled that the ED had conducted searches at 11 locations in Mumbai and Bangalore in connection with the money laundering case it had filed to probe the assets acquired by Mirchi from the proceeds of his crime in India.