A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on Saturday sent Sadanand Kadam, a close aide of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader and former Maharashtra minister Anil Parab to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till March 15 in connection with the alleged Dapoli Sai Resort scam.
ED sought 14 days custody of Kadam who was produced before the court on Saturday. ED told the court that it issued three summons to Kadam since he did not appear before the agency.
ED said it took Kadam to its office and started recording his statement. The agency told the court that he was giving evasive replies.
The agency said in 2017 Anil Parab wanted to buy land hence he contacted Sadanand Kadam. Kadam helped Parab to buy the land and the deal was finalized at Rs 1.80 crore. Parab transferred Rs 1 crore through banking and Rs 80 lakh unaccounted cash through Vibhas Sathe.
"When we questioned Vibhas Sathe, he confirmed it. But when we questioned Sadanand, he denied such transactions. In May 2017, the transaction took place but the land was registered in 2019. They did not want to show that the land is with Anil Parab," ED told the court.
Kadam's lawyer told media that the court allowed Kadam home food and medicine .
Kadam appeared before ED on Friday for questioning. He was arrested after questioning by the central agency.
Earlier on Friday, ED conducted a search at his residence and issued him a summon to appear before the agency.In February this year, Kadam challenged the Income Tax department after it had provisionally attached Sai Resort under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act (PBPTA) in December 2022.
Anil Parab has a resort in Dapoli which is allegedly illegal and Parab is accused of corruption in building the resort.
Earlier in 2022, the ED had also called Parab in the alleged money laundering case in the Dapoli resort case.
It is alleged that the rules of the Union Environment Ministry have been ignored to build the resort, due to which the Environment Ministry declared it illegal and also complained about this in the Dapoli court.
Based on the same complaint, ED registered Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and started an investigation into the matter.
In 2021, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya lodged a complaint against then Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar against Parab, accusing him of illegally constructing a resort in Ratnagiri during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Meanwhile, back in June last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) quizzed Parab in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
He was summoned by the central agencies following raids at his properties in Pune and Mumbai in May 2022 after the agency filed a case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In September 2021 too, Parab appeared before the ED in Mumbai for questioning in connection with the bribery and money laundering case against former Maharashtra home minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Anil Deshmukh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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