ED summons MMRDA chief in Tops Grup money laundering case
“Shri. R.A. Rajeev will be visiting the ED office on behalf of MMRDA though the case pertains to his predecessor’s tenure”
— MMRDA in a Statement
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Commissioner RA Rajeev in a case linked to Tops Grup and Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik.
The agency is probing alleged misappropriations in a contract bagged by Tops Group with the MMRDA.
While Rajeev was not the MMRDA chief then, he is likely to throw light on the contract and the terms. "In connection to the tender case pertaining to Tops Security from 2014-17, the ED has summoned the MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner for recording evidence. Since the Metropolitan Commissioner in that period, Shri. Urvinder Singh Madan has retired, the current chair, Shri. R.A. Rajeev will be visiting the ED office on behalf of MMRDA though the case pertains to his predecessor’s tenure," an MMRDA statement read on Monday.
Sarnaik and his two sons Vihang and Purvesh have been questioned in the case. The ED registered a case on the basis of the FIR registered with Yellow Gate police station.
As per the FIR filed by Ramesh Iyer from Tops Group, Rahul Nanda, promoter and chairman of the group and other connected persons diverted huge funds from the account of Tops Group companies to various accounts in India and to accounts of overseas companies.
The ED has earlier detailed before the court the alleged misappropriation based on the statements recorded of Ramesh Iyer of Topsgrup and Amar Panghal, ex finance director of Topsgrup. “Iyer and Panghal in their statements stated that in the year 2014, a contract was signed by M/s Topsgrup services and solutions limited, with MMRDA as per which there were about 350 to 500 guards which were to be deployed on MMRDA sites on a monthly basis. That out of the same, only 70% of guards were actually deployed; that however the billing was done for all the guards as per contract and the wages paid details were submitted to MMRDA for 100 % of the contract value based on the number of guards to be deployed as per the contract and not on the basis of actual deployment of the guards,” the agency earlier told court. “That accordingly compliance documents like PFs/ESIC are being submitted for 100% of the contract value and not on the basis of actual deployment, i.e at the reduced strength of the guards deployed.”