Money laundering at Mumbai's United Services Club: ED attaches ₹13.44-crore assets

The agency alleged that ₹77 crore was diverted over two decades through dummy vendor accounts and later used to acquire properties and fixed deposits.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹13.44 crore in Mumbai, Goa and Madhya Pradesh in a money-laundering investigation into the alleged siphoning of ₹77 crore from the high-profile United Services Club in Colaba.

The United Services Club in Colaba is jointly managed by the Army, Navy and Air Force and was established in 1937. (www.usclub.co.in)

The attached assets comprise 13 immovable and movable properties including flats, plots, fixed deposits and bank balances, belonging to the club’s former deputy secretary (finance) Bernadette Varma, her husband Bharatkumar Varma, and others under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED probe follows Mumbai Police FIR

The agency’s investigation is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Mumbai police in February 2025.

The ED’s probe has revealed that Bernadette allegedly connived with her husband to open dummy bank accounts in names closely resembling those of the club’s regular vendors, and diverted funds worth ₹77 crore into these accounts over a period of 20 years. The money, classified as proceeds of crime, was then allegedly routed through several personal and joint accounts of the couple, their family members and associates, officials said.

Investigators found that the couple allegedly used the proceeds of crime to acquire immovable properties and open fixed deposits with various banks. About ₹11 crore was allegedly transferred to the account of a trust, from where it was further diverted to bank accounts linked to a chartered accountant, his family members, and firms controlled by him.

Earlier attachment covered 35 properties worth ₹34.51 crore

On March 20, the ED had provisionally attached 35 properties worth ₹34.51 crore.

The United Services Club, an elite military club established in 1937 in Colaba, is jointly managed by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. It occupies a prime seaside location in south Mumbai with a nearly 1-km-long promenade. Popularly known as the US Club, it has serving and retired defence officials as permanent members while other government officials are admitted as temporary members. The club’s income comes from membership fees, sports and other social activities, the bar and restaurant and donations.