The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has attached two Goa plots of HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan worth more than Rs 31 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' in Mumbai.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) against Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd. and others. The Wadhawans were the directors of this company.
The ED had arrested Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut and his "close associate" Pravin Raut in this case earlier.
The case pertained to a Rs 1,034-crore alleged land scam related to the re-development of the Patra "chawl" in Mumbai's Goregaon.
Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited was involved in the re-development of this "chawl", which had 672 tenants living in tenements on 47 acres belonging to the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA), the ED had said earlier.
"Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, Sarang Wadhwan and others were the directors of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd and a tripartite agreement was signed between tenants, MHADA and Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd." "According to the agreement, developer was to provide the flats to 672 tenants and develop flats for MHADA and thereafter remaining area to be sold by the developer," the ED said.
The directors of Guru Ashish Constructions "misled" MHADA and sold the Floor Space Index (FSI) to nine developers and collected a net amount of about Rs 901.79 crore without constructing the rehabilitation part for 672 displaced tenants and the MHADA portion, it said.
"Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd also launched a project namely 'Meadows' and collected the booking amount of around Rs 138 Crore from flat buyers," it said.
The total "proceeds of crime", it alleged, generated by the directors of Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt Ltd through "illegal" activities was about Rs 1,039.79 crore. The ED said it found that Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan after receipt of the above mentioned proceeds of crime in bank accounts of HDIL and its group companies, "diverted" these funds through bank accounts of HDIL and/or its group companies like GACPL, Sapphire land Development Pvt Ltd, Satyam Realtors etc which finally reached in the personal bank accounts of the Wadhawans after multiple layering. "During 2011-2016, proceeds of crime of Rs 38.5 crore from the account of Rakesh Wadhawan were utilised for pre-payments of the instalments against availed loan of Rs 28.5 crore from India Bulls Housing Finance Ltd." "The loan was availed at floating interest of 18.5 per cent for acquiring 2 plots (in North Goa) of 1,250 square meters and 15,300 square meters respectively and is worth Rs 31.50 crore during 2011.
"A payment of Rs 2 crore were also made to the seller of the plots from the personal account of Sarang Wadhwan," it said.
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