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PMC Bank fraud case: ED summons Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha again for questioning on Jan 11

Pravin Raut has been a director in an infrastructure company called Guruashish constructions and is stated to be a subsidiary of the HDIL (Housing Development Infrastructure Limited), an accused firm in this case.

PMC Bank fraud case: ED summons Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha again for questioning on Jan 11
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons against Varsha Raut, wife of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, for the second round of questioning in connection with INR 4,300 crores PMC Bank money laundering case, official sources said.

This is the fourth summons. The agency wants to question her further and hence she has been asked to appear on January 11. Earlier, on January 4, Varsha Raut was grilled and her statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the central probe agency for the first time. She left the ED office after about three hours

Varsha Raut joined the probe a day ahead of the scheduled date that she had earlier requested for. Raut reached the ED office in response to the third summon that the agency had issued last month asking her to appear before it on December 29. But Varsha Raut sought more time from the ED saying she would appear before the agency on January 5. She had skipped the earlier summons on the health grounds.

The agency is probing her role in the alleged bank loan scam with regard to the transfer of INR 55 lakhs by the wife of an accused in the case, Pravin Raut, apart from some other transactions.

Pravin Raut has been a director in an infrastructure company called Guruashish constructions and is stated to be a subsidiary of the HDIL (Housing Development Infrastructure Limited), an accused firm in this case. Pravin Raut was arrested in the past by the state police economic offences wing.

Moreover, both Pravin Raut and his wife Madhuri have been questioned by the ED in the past and their statements have been recorded, said the sources.

The ED's investigation has revealed that Pravin Raut had siphoned off INR 95 crores through HDIL. However, no documents of this transaction have been made. According to the information given by the ED, the land at Palghar was taken through the money. Apart from this, Praveen had given INR 1.6 crores to his wife Madhuri Raut. Of which, INR 55 lakhs (INR 50 lakhs on December 23, 2010, and INR 5 lakhs on March 15, 2011) was given as an interest-free loan to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha Raut. The money was used to buy a house in Dadar (East).

Earlier, the ED had seized assets worth INR 293 crores belonging to Rakesh Wadhwan and Wadhwan family. Jewellery worth INR 63 crore has also been seized.

Meanwhile, the investigation further revealed that Madhuri Raut and Varsha Raut are partners in the Avni construction company, the ED said. While there was a contribution of only INR 5,625 crores, he had received INR 12 lakhs in the form of overdue capital. Later, it was converted into debt.

Read More: ED to focus on tracking down INR 55 lakhs received by Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha

However, over a month ago, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut had denied all the allegations against and claimed that central agencies were being used to "destabilise" the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra.

Besides, the Shiv Sena, which is ruling Maharashtra as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress had earlier alleged that central probe agencies were targeting its leaders unfairly.

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