Mumbai, March 23: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, has provisionally attached 35 movable and immovable properties worth Rs 34.51 crore in connection with an alleged Rs 77 crore financial fraud linked to the United Services (US) Club, officials said.
The attached assets include flats, shops, and fixed deposits held in the names of Bernadette Bharat Varma, her husband Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma, and other linked individuals. The action has been taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED initiated its probe based on an FIR registered in February 2025 by Cuffe Parade Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The FIR alleged large-scale misappropriation of funds from the US Club, a prominent institution in south Mumbai.
Probe findings revealed that Bernadette Varma, who was serving as Deputy Secretary (Finance) at the US Club, allegedly conspired with her husband to siphon off funds by creating multiple fake or dummy bank accounts. These accounts were reportedly opened in names resembling those of genuine vendors of the club, enabling the accused to divert funds without immediate detection.
Officials said that approximately Rs 77 crore was siphoned off through these accounts over a period of time. The diverted funds were subsequently transferred to personal and joint bank accounts of the accused, their family members, and close associates, indicating a structured layering of transactions to conceal the origin of the money.
The ED further alleged that the accused used the proceeds of crime to acquire several immovable properties in Mumbai and to invest in fixed deposits across various banks. These investments, officials said, were aimed at integrating the illicit funds into the formal financial system.
Investigators also found that a portion of the funds, to the tune of around Rs 11 crore, was transferred to the bank account of M/s Jyotirgamay Foundation, a trust. From there, the money was allegedly routed to bank accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members, and firms under his control. Pandey was associated with the US Club as a chartered accountant, officials said.
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The agency suspects that multiple entities and individuals may have been involved in the diversion and layering of funds, and further financial trails are being examined.
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