Mumbai PMLA Court Allows ED To Produce Godman Ashok Kharat On May 18 In Money Laundering Case

Mumbai: The special PMLA court on Monday allowed a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and ordered the production of self-styled godman Ashok Kharat before the court on May 18. The court directed that Kharat, who is facing sexual assault, fraud, and money laundering charges, be produced with adequate police protection and security.

The agency, through its counsel Arvind Aghav, stated that his production is necessary to identify the ultimate beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime. According to the ED, Kharat is the primary person who extorted money from victims across Maharashtra through religious manipulation. He allegedly converted these funds into accounted money with the help of associates and invested in real estate in his or family members’ names.

To reinforce his claims of divine healing, Kharat used deceptive practices such as creating a supernatural atmosphere through staged rituals, including the use of remote-controlled fake snakes and tiger skins. Under these pretexts, he induced victims to transfer assets and sold common items, such as wild tamarind seeds, as blessed items for ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh by claiming they possessed healing powers.

The investigation revealed that Kharat opened 60 bank accounts in the names of various persons with Samata Nagari Co-operative Credit Society (Samata Pat Sanstha) in Rahata. The accounts had his mobile number and he was the nominee for all.

On May 25, 2021, he opened 43 accounts in a single day. In total, Kharat managed 60 bank accounts interlinked to 48 special saving accounts using documents of devotees without their consent, conducting transactions worth more than ₹70 crore.

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