ED attaches land parcels worth ₹52.9 crore

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 413 agricultural land parcels worth ₹52.90 crore in Sindhudurg district in connection with the money laundering involved in the PMC bank loan fraud case.

The said land parcels measuring approximately 1,807 acres at Village Vijaydurg, in Devgad taluka have been attached under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said on Tuesday.

The attached land parcels were acquired from 2010 to 2013, the agency sources said. The agency had commenced its probe based on a case registered by Economic Offences Wing under various sections of the IPC against accused persons including the PMC Bank’s then directors, Joy Thomas and Waryam Singh and HDIL (Housing Development and infrastructure Private Limited)’s promoters Rakesh Wadhawan, Sarang Wadhawan and other unknown persons. The Mumbai police’s case had accused the HDIL, its promoters and other co-accused persons/ accomplices of defrauding the PMC Bank by causing it a loss of ₹6,117.93 crore in all, wherein the unpaid principal loan sum was ₹2,540.92 crore with accumulated interest of ₹3,577.01 crore, according to ED.

It was then alleged that the bank had not carried details in their regulatory reporting to the RBI about certain loans that had been given to HDIL firms and had replaced these loan accounts with fictitious accounts. ED’S case probe disclosed that during 2010 to 2013, the HDIL promoters allegedly diverted the proceeds of crime worth ₹82.30 crore to the bank accounts of 39 -odd farmers through their subsidiary firms, Privilege Power and Infrastructure Limited and Privilege Hi-tech Infrastructure Limited, for acquiring the land parcels at Vijaydurg. It was alleged that one of the accused promoters, Sarang Wadhawan, had in connivance with his employee, Mukesh Khadpe persuaded the farmers to acquire the land parcels in their names and thereafter transfer the same in the name of HDIL group company in lieu of commission and other benefits, ED sources said.

Cash components allegedly were also used for acquiring the land parcels, the agency said. After the registration of the land parcels, the power -of- attorney documents were allegedly obtained in favour of the HDIL Group company, according to ED. The agency has submitted a main chargesheet and two supplementary chargesheets against the two HDIL promoters and 36 other co-accused persons.