ED attaches 2 Goa plots of HDIL promoters Wadhawans in Patra chawl case

Enforcement Directorate (ED) 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 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.