ED attaches assets worth Rs 21.46 Crore belonging to Chandrakant Patel of Pushpak Bullion

Mumbai: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 21.46 Crore belonging to Chandrakant Patel of Pushpak Bullion & others for laundering money post demonetisation. Patel has been arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED is in process to know real names of those individuals, who had deposited unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 84.5 crore in cash and later got that converted into gold.

During November-December 2016, huge cash deposits amounting to Rs 84.5 crore were deposited in two shell companies i.e. Pihu Gold and Satnam Jewels. Later, the funds were transferred in the account of Pushpak Bullion in order to purchase 258 kilogram of gold. Subsequently, the yellow metal was given back to both companies which got sold in Mumbai bullion market.

Directors of both shell companies (sub-traders) were bogus. Both companies were managed by Patel and one of the directors in these companies was his employee.

Soon after Patel’s arrest, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam called a press conference, alleging that the bullion trader was having business links with Shiv Sena Minister Ravindra Waikar and demanded a probe into the matter.

Nirupam alleged that Patel owned a petrol pump called Pushpak in Waikar’s constituency and that they had joint investments in several businesses.

However, Waikar hit back, saying, “Whatever transaction I had with Chandu Bhai (alias Patel) is mentioned in my income tax returns and election affidavit in 2014. I have nothing to hide.”

Pushpak Bullion has been declared as an NPA account and defaulter by the Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 200 crores, approximately.

Last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a corruption case against two bank officials and three traders for suspicious deposits of demonetised currency worth Rs 84.5 crore into bank accounts of two shell companies at Zaveri Bazaar in two instalments.

Searches were conducted at 12 premises of five accused, namely Rakesh Patel of Pihu Gold, Mayur Chawla of Satnam Jewellers, Amit Sampat of Pushpak Bullion and two bank officials of the Union Bank of India (UBI), and recovered “indiscriminating documents” with documents and fake deposit vouchers.