Mumbai: ED custody of builder extended in Yes Bank - DHFL case

A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has extended till July 11 the custody with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of builder Avinash Bhosale in the money laundering case relating to Yes Bank and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) of the Wadhawans.

Bhosale was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and was in a CBI court's custody in the same case, when the ED took his custody for probing the money laundering aspect of the offence. The builder had been produced before the PMLA court on June 29 and the court had granted him custody to the ED till July 5.

Seeking his further custody on Tuesday, ED's prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar told the court that Bhosale’s ABIP Group consists of around 40 companies and Rs. 37.50 crores was illegally diverted to him and his entities during a period. It said the amount was given to him by DHFL in the form of consultancy fees or charges. The ED also told the court that Bhosale had connived with his co-accused Sanjay Chhabria of Radius Group and illegally obtained Rs. 431 crores. The agency is probing money laundering offence against Chhabria too in the same case.

Bhosale’s advocate Vijay Aggarwal along with Adv Rahul Agarwal on behalf of Wadia Ghandi and Co. argued that Bhosale had cooperated with the probe and there is no need for further custodial interrogation.

Special PMLA Judge MG Deshpande said in the order that it is a fact that in the previous ED custody remand many facts have been revealed indicating trail of money. Money laundering or dealing with proceeds of crime worth Rs.431 Crore is never a case put forward by ED earlier, the court said. Therefore, to achieve finality to the investigation, further extension of ED custody till 11.07.2022 has to be granted, it stated. The court also noted that the process of money laundering is complex and hard to bring on record and said that certainly thorough investigation is necessary.