DSK fraud case: ED attaches properties worth Rs 904 crore

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Thursday said it has attached properties worth Rs 904 crore in connection with DSK Group money laundering case.

Deepak Kulkarni, the chairman and managing director of the group, his wife Hemanti and son Shirish are accused of cheating 35,000 depositors and investors of Rs 1,129 crore.

The immovable properties attached include land, buildings, flats, insurance policies and cash deposits in bank accounts, an official statement from the directorate said.

The action has been undertaken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, it added.

ED said its investigations had revealed that the trio had conspired to defraud general public and formed eight companies to collect funds from people in Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur and other cities of Maharashtra for nine years till 2017, when the scam was busted. The statement said the “money trail” has established that after raising money, the trio laundered the money into 40 other group companies and used the money to purchase land in India and the US and fund construction projects, among other uses.

“Proceeds of the crime” were further siphoned off from DSKDL (DS Kulkarni Developers) to Hemanti Kulkarni through close relatives or family members in the guise of land developing and consenting charges, the money trail revealed, the note said. Citing the case of a land purchase in Phursungi (near Pune), the note said while DSKDL paid Rs 332 crore between 2006-09 for the purchase of land to develop an SEZ, the farmers received only Rs 147.85 crore, while the remaining Rs 184.46 crore were siphoned off to Hemanti Kulkarni. The ED has been carrying out investigations to unearth properties acquired by the accused in the case of funds collected from investors, the note said, adding further probe is on.