Mumbai : The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against former NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, son Pankaj and nephew Samir Bhujbal in connection with the alleged money laundering of Rs 870 crore that was received as kickbacks in various projects.
The charge sheet runs into more than 11,150 pages and has been filed before the Registrar of City Civil and Sessions Court in Mumbai. The charge sheet talks about the money laundering done by the accused persons after getting kickbacks and then using the money to buy properties at various places.
The charge sheet has also named several corporate houses as being involved in the case. The charge is that these projects were given to certain developers without following the proper tendering process and money was received in return by the NCP leader.
Some of the corporate entities named in the charge sheet are D B Realty, the Balwa group of companies and Neelkamal Realtors and Builders Private Limited, Neelkamal Central Apartment and Kakade Infrastructure. “The other individuals named in the complaint are Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, Sanjay Kakade and others,” the agency said.
Sources in the ED said that the directorate has named about 30 witnesses in the charge sheet and provided various evidences to show that money was laundered in projects like the Maharashtra Sadan and Kalina Library. Bhujbal, who was recently arrested by the ED in this case, is currently languishing in judicial custody at Arthur Road Jail along with his nephew.
Read story behind Chhagan Bhujbal arrested
An ED official said that they are carrying out further inquiries in this matter and can even file a supplementary charge sheet. “Further reconstruction of the money trail and identification of the assets generated out of the proceeds of crime is in progress,’’ the sources explained.
The Bombay High Court had earlier constituted a Special Investigation Team comprising the ED and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau to conduct the inquiry against Bhujbal and others. The ACB complaint names Pankaj and Samir and they had been booked under IPC Sections related to cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and relevant provisions of Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act. The ED has already attached assets worth an estimated Rs 330 crore in the case until now.
