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Armaan Jain reaches ED office for questioning in TopsGrup money laundering case
The ED had earlier searched Armaan Jain's premises as part of the probe into the case.
Actor Armaan Jain, cousin of actors Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, reached the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) office in South Mumbai on Wednesday morning for questioning in connection with an alleged money laundering case involving security service provider TopsGrup and Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik.
Jain reached the ED office at around 9.50 am. On a previous occasion but he did not appear despite being summoned.
The ED wants to question him in connection with business dealings, if any, with Sarnaik’s son Vihang Sarnaik, who is reportedly a close friend of Jain. The directorate claims it has come across several communications between the two. The investigators had also searched Jain's premises in the past. But the agency later stopped the searches following the death of Jain's uncle Rajiv Kapoor.
Vihang and his father Pratap Sarnaik were previously questioned by ED in the case.
The ED had earlier arrested Sarnaik's close associate Amit Chandole and TopsGrup Security Services Limited (TGSSL) managing director M Shashidharan in the cae where TopsGrup had allegedly bagged contracts from MMRDA in collusion with Sarnaik through illegal means. These illegal manoeuvres aimed to get undue benefit by inflating bills at the cost of MMRDA and illegal cash gratification to Sarnaik for facilitating this scam. Sarnaik used to get 50% of the profit earned of the said contract through Chandole, the ED had claimed.
It said that in 2014, a contract was signed by TGSSL with MMRDA under which 350 to 500 guards were to be deployed at MMRDA sites monthly. Out of the same, only 70% of guards were deployed. However, the billing was done for all the guards as per the contract and the wage details were submitted to MMRDA for 100% of the contract vałue.
Mumbai police's economic offence wing (EOW) is also probing cross complaints of TopsGrup chairman Rahul Nanda and his former employee Ramesh Iyer (the complainant in the ED's case). Nanda has alleged that Iyer and other employees siphoned off the company's money, while Iyer claimed that Nanda, through his company, indulged in massive misconduct and financial irregularities worth ₹175 crore.
On Tuesday the agency also recorded the statement of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) commissioner RA Rajeev, who said that MMRDA has not given clean chit to anyone.
