ED attaches assets of Maha scamsters in Rs 264 crore IT refund fraud

Mumbai, July 12 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate has slapped provisional attachment orders on the assets of various entities allegedly involved in a massive Income Tax refund scam of Rs. 263.95 crore, officials said here on Friday. The persons whose properties, bank accounts, insurance policies, bank deposits, etc. are attached include Purushottam Chavan, Rajesh Batreja, Anirudh Gandhi, Rajesh Shetty, and Bhushan A. Patil.The action comes under the PMLA for money laundering arising out of the IT refund frauds being probed by the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Unit.The real assets comprise a flat, and plots of land in Lonavala-Khandala twin hill stations in Pune district.Following a CBI FIR, the ED initiated investigations against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and others for fraudulently generating and issuance of TDS refunds from the Income Tax Department to the tune of Rs 263.95 crore.The probe revealed that Batreja helped Adhikari and others in diverting Proceeds of Crime (PoC) of Rs 55.50 Crore outside India with the help of Gandhi.Subsequent to the diversion of the funds, Batreja with the help of some other persons in Dubai, parked the proceeds of crime outside India. Part of the concealed amount was further invested in the two Indian companies based in Mumbai and Gurugram under the guise of share investment by making cross-border remittances.Initially, Batreja had repatriated a small part of the money, totalling around Rs 1.70 crore. Later, instead of bringing back the remaining concealed amounts, Batreja connived with Chavan to divert and dilute the ill-gotten wealth. They have also concealed some of the proceeds of crime in India and abroad with help from the Dubai-based persons, as per the ED probe.Earlier, Adhikari, Patil, Shetty, Batreja and Chavan were arrested by the ED and presently, all 5 are under judicial custody. The Prosecution Complaint was also filed on September 11, 2023, against Adhikari and 10 others, cognisance of which has also been taken by the Special (PMLA) Court here.Including the latest attachment, the ED has seized/attached immovable/movable properties in the case amounting to around Rs 182 crore, and further investigation is under progress.–IANSqn/vd