ED provisionally attaches assets worth Rs 13.44 crore in money laundering case

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ED attaches assets worth Rs 13.44 crore

Highlights

The Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached assets worth Rs 13.44 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Rs 77 crore from the United Services Club was transferred to fake bank accounts and allegedly routed to individual and joint accounts through collusion.
Around Rs 11 crore was transferred to Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust) and subsequently reached accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey and his network.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Basis of the investigation and alleged fund flows

According to the Enforcement Directorate, its Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached these assets linked to Bernadette Bharat Varma, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Mumbai Police under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The investigation found that Bernadette Bharat Varma, Deputy Secretary (Finance) of the United Services Club, allegedly conspired with her husband, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma, to open several fake or dummy bank accounts in names resembling those of the club's regular vendors. Around Rs 77 crore of United Services Club funds was transferred into these accounts and subsequently routed to the individual and joint bank accounts of Bernadette Varma, Bharat Varma, and their family members or associates.

Property investments and the broader impact of the case

According to the ED's investigation, the alleged proceeds of crime were used to purchase several immovable properties and make fixed deposits with various banks. The agency said these funds form the basis of the assets attached under the money laundering investigation.

The investigation also found that around Rs 11 crore was transferred to the bank account of M/s Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust), from where the money was subsequently routed to accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members and firms under his control. The ED has identified Chandra Prakash Pandey as the Chartered Accountant associated with the US Club, indicating that the case extends to the broader aspect of alleged fund diversion and the use of professional networks.

In our previous report on the case involving Akshatha Minerals Pvt. Ltd., it was reported that the Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached units of the HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund under the PMLA after tracing investments of funds linked to alleged bank fraud. The article also noted that a portion of the credit facility obtained from Bank of India was further routed through investments and reinvestments in various mutual fund schemes, establishing a traceable chain of alleged proceeds of crime.

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