Mumbai: Makarand Kulkarni, brother of Pune-based developer D S Kulkarni, was detained at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday while he was attempting to flee the country.
He is one of the accused in a fraud case of worth Rs 2043 crore registered against them for cheating investors in 2013. Lookout notice against Makarand had already been issued in connection with the fraud case.
In February this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached assets worth Rs 904 crore of DS Kulkarni Developers Ltd (DSKDL) and companies of DSK Group in a case of cheating and syphoning of funds of investors under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The ED initiated investigations under the provisions of PMLA on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) and charge sheet of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Pune.
The charge sheet disclosed that Chairman and Managing Director of DSK Group, DS Kulkarni, group president of DSK Group Shirish D Kulkarni and others had cheated about 35,000 investors of Maharashtra by fraudulently collecting deposits worth Rs 1,084 crore in the guise of better returns during the period from 2006 to 2017.
Investigations revealed that the DSKDL purchased land at Fursungi near Pune at a total cost of Rs 332 crore between 2006 and 2009 for the development of a special economic zone (SEZ) project.
However, in the entire land purchase dealing, agriculturists got only Rs 147.85 crore and the remaining funds amounting to Rs 184.46 crore was syphoned off to the account of Hemanti D Kulkarni.
So far, identified proceeds of crime consisting of immovable properties amount to Rs 895 crore situated in various in Fursungi, Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur of Maharashtra, Bengaluru and in the USA. Bank balances amounting to Rs 4 crore and LIC policies worth Rs 5 crore to the tune of Rs 904 crore has been provisionally attached under PMLA.
