TDS refund fraud case: ED searches SoBo home of fifth accused, finds docus of properties worth ₹100 cr

The sources said that the ED probe is scrutinising the property -and - TDR documents to find out why were the documents related to the TDR and 13 assets, in the name of different individuals, were lying with Chavan, to whom they actually belong and if they are linked to the TDS case

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently recovered documents related to 13 properties in the name of several persons estimated to be worth around 100 crore in the ₹263-crore TDS refund fraud case. In addition to this, the officials also found TDR documents that are estimated to be worth around ₹50 crore, during its search at the south Mumbai residence of Purshottam Chavan, the fifth accused in the case who was arrested on Monday.

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Chavan, the husband of a Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service officer, is accused of possession (of a part), concealment, and diversion of the proceeds of crime in the case. Among the properties, whose papers were recovered by the agency, are 12 spacious flats in Mumbai and Thane, and a plot of land in Panvel, Raigad, belonging to others, agency sources said. Two flats are located in Worli, the sources said.

The sources said that the ED probe is scrutinising the property -and - TDR documents to find out why were the documents related to the TDR and 13 assets, in the name of different individuals, were lying with Chavan, to whom they actually belong and if they are linked to the TDS case, to decide the further course of action, the sources said. ED sources said that Chavan’s wife is not under the probe ‘s scanner as she played no role, whatsoever, in any alleged irregularity in the case. TDR refers to rights that enable real estate firms to develop over and above the permitted Floor Space Index (FSI) — the maximum amount of construction allowed on a plot of land relative to its size.

The ED is also probing allegations made by a case accused that Chavan had received several crores in Rupees in lieu of his claims that he could help the former by influencing the probe, agency sources said. ED learnt that the two accused had allegedly met a few months ago via a mutual acquaintance, who claimed Chavan has contacts and could help him in siphoning off the case’s proceeds as well as in the probe, the sources said.

On Sunday, the ED searched Chavan’s premises, the residence allotted to his wife, and recovered and seized several property-related documents, foreign currency and mobile phones. Chavan was arrested by the agency after his name came up following the arrest of Rajesh Batreja, a Navi Mumbai businessman, who was nabbed by the ED last week. The investigation revealed that Batreja and Chavan were allegedly in regular contact and shared messages related to the diversion of the proceeds of crime and related hawala transactions, sources said.

The agency also alleged that Chavan had attempted to hamper the probe by destroying some evidence, which could have led to the tracing of the crime proceeds. Consequently, Chavan was arrested for his alleged involvement in dealing with the proceeds of crime on May 20 and produced before a Mumbai court that remanded him to ED’s custody till May 27. Apart from Batreja and Chavan, the agency previously arrested three persons in the case — former I-T official Tanaji Adhikari and businessmen Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty.

Batreja is accused of helping in the diversion of a part of the crime proceeds amounting to ₹55.4 crore abroad. Subsequently, Batreja had allegedly brought back and concealed the proceeds in two entities located in Mumbai and Gurugram in Haryana by presenting them as investments from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After the diversion, Batreja allegedly aided Adhikari in concealing the proceeds of the crime by placing them in firms and incorporating them with the assistance of a local individual in Dubai, presenting them as untainted funds.

The ED initiated its investigation based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Adhikari and others for fraudulently generating and issuing 12 TDS refunds from the I-T department between November 15, 2019 to November 4, 2020, and thus withdrew a total amount of ₹263.95 crore.

So far, the ED has seized/attached immovable/movable properties worth ₹168 crore. The agency had previously submitted its chargesheet against Adhikari and 10 others in a Mumbai special court, which took cognizance of it.