Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a 75-page chargesheet in the Special Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) court in a case pertaining to the alleged irregularities in the jumbo Covid-19 treatment centres in Mumbai.
In the chargesheet, the ED has named Life Line Hospital and Management Services partner Sujit Patkar, along with Hemant Gupta, Sanjay Shah, Rajiv Salunkhe and two other accused Dr Kishor Bishore and Arvind Singh.
Money trail established during investigation
The ED chargesheet includes statements from more than 40 witnesses, revealing the involvement of the accused in various financial irregularities.
The chargesheet has been submitted to the court's registry and will be presented before the special judge for cases under the PMLA Act after the scrutiny of papers.
The investigation revealed that Patkar's firm received approximately Rs32 crore from the BMC as part of a contract, and more than Rs 22 crore was allegedly laundered through shell companies.
According to the investigation, significant amounts of cash were withdrawn, and a money trail has been established. It is alleged that to siphon off the money, certain payments were made to individuals who later returned the money in cash to the accused.
The ED's investigation also found that NSCI Worli and Dahisar had awarded a contract to the Life Line Hospital Management Service Company to provide doctors and medical staff. During the probe, it was discovered that the attendance records and work documents submitted by the company to the municipal corporation were fraudulent. Despite a shortage of medical staff at Corona centers, fake documents were created to inflate the count of medical personnel.
The company played a significant role in securing contracts, and Patkar had the trust of Dr Bishore and other municipal authorities when it came to managing expenses related to the meals of medical staff.
