By PTI
NEW DELHI: The ED has attached assets worth more than Rs 34 crore of a company promoted by Maharashtra MLA Hitendra Thakur in a money laundering probe linked to alleged diversion of Rs 200 crore worth bank loan taken from Yes Bank, the agency said on Monday.
“The attached assets are in the form of two commercial properties measuring 15,000 sq mtrs area in Kaledonia building (Andheri East), Mumbai and they are valued at Rs 34.36 crore,” it said in a statement.
The provisional order for attachment has been issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The money laundering case pertains to investigation against Viva Group, promoted by Maharashtra MLA and Bahujan Vikas Agadhi (BVA) party chief Hitendra Thakur, Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), its promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan for allegedly “siphoning off” a Rs 200 crore loan sanctioned by Yes Bank to a company called Mack Star Marketing Pvt Ltd.
The central agency had raided five premises of the group and its associates last month and arrested two executives linked to the company.
The ED filed a criminal case against the accused after studying a CBI FIR that was registered against them earlier.
The ED said its probe found that the “Wadhawans illegally and fraudulently transferred two commercial properties of Mack Star in Kaledonia building, Mumbai valued at Rs 34.36 crore to Viva Holding”.
“For the transfer of these properties, two separate sale agreements dated 26.06.2017 were prepared wherein sale value for both the subject commercial properties were shown as Rs 34.36 crore in total,” it said.
In the sale agreements, the purchase amount were shown “to be paid vide 37 cheques by Viva Holding to Mack Star Marketing Pvt Ltd. against the purchase of the said properties.”
“Investigation has revealed that these cheques were never en-cashed in the account of Mack Star and Viva Holding never made payments for the purchase of the said property to Mack Star.”
“Wadhawans had illegally transferred these properties to Viva Group in violation to the article of association of Mackstar. Further, Viva Holding never showed these properties in its balance sheets,” the ED alleged.
The Wadhawans are also being probed by the agency as part of another PMLA case related to an alleged over Rs 4,300 crore bank loan fraud at the PMC Bank.
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