Vasai-Virar Illegal Building Scam: Special PMLA Court Discharges Former VVCMC Chief Anil Pawar, Wife And 2 CAs
A special PMLA court discharged former VVCMC commissioner Anil Pawar, his wife Bharti and two chartered accountants in the Vasai-Virar illegal construction money laundering case. The court cited the absence of a quantified proceeds-of-crime amount attributable to Pawar and a clear money trail. Proceedings will continue against 14 other accused.
Court Finds No Established Money Trail Linking Anil Pawar And The Other Discharged Accused To The Alleged Proceeds Of Crime | Representational Image
Mumbai, October 31, 2026: The special PMLA court on Saturday discharged IAS officer Anil Pawar, former commissioner of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), in a money laundering case linked to illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar. The court observed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had not quantified the proceeds of crime attributable to Pawar.
Along with Pawar, the court also discharged his wife, Bharti, and chartered accountants Narendra Jain and Sandeep Jain. Meanwhile, the court took cognisance of the ED’s complaint against the remaining 14 accused, including Y Shiva Reddy, former deputy director in the town planning department, and two builders, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta. The court summoned the accused to appear on November 30.
Court Cites Timeline Of Illegal Constructions
While discharging Pawar, the court observed, “The land grabbing started in 2008, while Pawar took charge of VVCMC in 2022. Three of the four predicate offences were registered between 2019 and 2023 following complaints lodged by VVCMC officers.”
The ED alleged that Pawar collected Rs 169.18 crore in bribes through Reddy, including Rs 16.59 crore for overlooking existing illegal constructions and Rs 152.59 crore for permitting new ones.
Court Finds No Money Trail Against Pawar
The court noted that Pawar was not named as an accused in any of the predicate offences. “There is nothing on record to show the money trail from either of the accused persons, mainly Accused No 3 (Reddy) to Accused No 4 (Anil Pawar) and successively to Accused No 13 (Bharti Pawar),” it observed.
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Chartered Accountants Also Discharged
While discharging the two CAs, the court said, “When no predicate offence is against Accused No 4, there cannot be proceeds of crime which could have been passed to his chartered accountant and his associate.”
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