E-Paper
PACL scam: Pravin Raut hired to liaise because of his closeness to Sanjay Raut, says ED
The supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has shed some light on Pravin Raut’s role in the ₹60,000-crore Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL) scam
The supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has shed some light on Pravin Raut’s role in the ₹60,000-crore Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL) scam. It claimed that Pravin was taken on board by the directors of DDPL Global Infrastructure Private Limited, a company linked to the chit-fund scam, and Unicorn Infraprojects and Estates Private Limited only because of his closeness to the Rajya Sabha MP.
The companies wanted Pravin to liaise with government authorities, Hemant Patil, one of the directors of DDPL and Unicorn, has told the ED. Patil’s statement is part of the chargesheet filed on September 15 in the money-laundering case pertaining to the alleged financial irregularities in redevelopment of Siddharth Nagar, also known as Patra Chawl, in Goregaon.
Pravin is also an accused in the Patra Chawl case. The ED has claimed that he was one of the directors of Guruashish Constructions Private Limited, which was given the contract to redevelop Patra Chawl, and that he acted as a proxy for Sanjay Raut.
Patil told the investigators that “he had engaged Pravin Raut for acquisition of agricultural land at Palghar (around 16-17 acres), and at Vasai-Virar (around 30,000 square feet) for TDR (transferrable development right)/FSI (floor space index). He is a known personality in the Vasai-Virar and Palghar regions in the business of land acquisition and aggregation from 2005.”
Patil said he was aware that Pravin would be able to liaise with government authorities and obtain approvals from local authorities because of his closeness to the Sena MP. DDPL and Unicorn had planned to acquire 150-200 acres and for the said purpose they had approached Pravin in 2008-09 and had promised FSI of 10 lakh square feet to him in exchange for his service.
Following a court-ordered preliminary enquiry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had in February 2014 registered a case in the PACL scam. The probe revealed that around 5.5 crore investors had been duped to the tune of ₹60,000 crore by luring them with high returns on sale and development of agriculture land.
The ED also initiated a money-laundering probe on the basis of the CBI case and recently questioned Pravin for his links with the scam.
According to the ED, PACL had transferred ₹2,285.79 crore to one Prateek Kumar, who invested ₹94.61 crore in DDPL and Unicorn. The agency has also alleged that using the funds, the two firms bought land parcels in Maharashtra.
In the supplementary chargesheet filed before a Mumbai court, the ED claimed that Pravin had interest in shares held by Prateek and his company, Synergy One Infrastructure and Projects Private Limited, in DDPL and Unicorn.
The statement by businessman Sohib Sequeira said Pravin had befriended Aboobaker Vorajee whom he wanted to assist in securing transfer of 16.27% shareholding held by Prateek and his firm in the two companies to a firm, First Virasat. Sequeira said that Prateek was paid ₹2 crore for this.
“First Virasat was in a poor financial condition and did not have the aforesaid amount in its bank account. At this point Pravin arranged for the finance from Trinity Investment Private Limited. This money was directly paid by Trinity to the shareholders via Pratik and Synergy One,” Sequeira said.
The chargesheet added that for this Patil, Vorajee and Pravin had gone to Dubai where they met Prateek and got the shares transferred.
Sequeira in his statement also claimed that due to this transfer of shares via First Virasat, Sirgun, a company which held 67% shares had gone to the Bombay high court and the issue was referred to arbitration.
In one of their meetings at a five-star hotel in Bandra Kurla Complex, Sequeira said Pravin had introduced Sanjay Raut to them as his relative, friend, and business partner.