The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Dinesh Bobhate, personal assistant of Anil Desai, former Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena (UBT). The ED has initiated a money laundering case against Bobhate based on the CBI's corruption case registered against him last month.
Case against Bobhate and wife
The CBI registered a case last month against Bobhate and his wife for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets worth Rs 2.58 crore, which is 36.43 percent more than their known sources of income.
According to the CBI, Bobhate, while working as an assistant and senior assistant in the New India Assurance Corporation Ltd, Lower Parel, from 2014 to 2023, had allegedly acquired disproportionate assets in his name and in the name of his wife, for which they could not satisfactorily account. The collected evidence "prima facie discloses that Dinesh Bobhate has indulged in corrupt practices by abusing his official position as a public servant and is in possession of disproportionate assets compared to his known sources of income.
The CBI investigation
During the investigation, the CBI found potential financial irregularities in the bank accounts of Dinesh Bobhate. Several fixed deposits, mutual fund investments, funds received from friends and sons in the name of financial help, which were then withdrawn, and several unidentified other incomes have been deposited in Bobhate's and his wife's names. Several allegedly suspicious transactions and movable and immovable properties were found during the CBI investigation.
The ED case against Bobhate could potentially escalate troubles for Anil Desai. Following the scrutiny faced by Ravindra Vaikar, Vaibhav Naik, Anil Parab, and Rajan Salvi, yet another leader from the Uddhav Thackeray group has now caught the attention of the investigating agency.
