New Delhi: After registering a money laundering case against HDIL chairman Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan in the ₹4,355 crore Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday searched the properties of Wadhawan’s close associates.
It was found during the searches that the owners of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) gifted a number of houses to politicians in some of Maharashtra’s posh locations. The ED remained tight-lipped about the identities of these politicians.
The country’s federal financial investigating agency also found a huge house with 22 rooms in Alibag, which will be attached shortly, the ED officials said.
A plane, said to be in the name of the promoters of HDIL, has also been found. The agency also claimed that it is in touch with authorities in Maldives to attach Wadhwan’s yacht which is anchored there.
The agency on Saturday attached a private jet and jewellery worth Rs 60 crore of Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan. The bank accounts of Waryam Singh, former Chairman of Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, were also frozen, including deposits/fixed deposits of around Rs 10 crore.
The agency had also filed a money laundering case against HDIL promoters bank fraud case. The financial investigating agency is looking for the details of the other 18 companies linked to the HDIL.
The ED had carried out raids at six places in Mumbai, including the head office of HDIL in Bandra (East) and the residence of Rakesh Wadhawan which is known as Wadhawan House in Bandra (West). The agency also raided the premises of Waryam Singh and former PMC Bank Managing Director Joy Thomas.
Interestingly, the ED has found that HDIL was one of the sponsors of Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team co-owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. HDIL was also the organiser of a Mumbai fashion event — HDIL Couture Week India, which was later shelved. HDIL also had stake in Adhikari Brothers’ firms and Hindi news channel Live India.
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Source: News18