Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs10.20 crore in connection with a money laundering probe against Shiv Sena UBT party leader Anil Parab, Sai Resort NX and others. The attached assets are in the form of land (measuring nearly 4249 sqmt) in Murud, Dapoli and Ratnagiri, valued at Rs2,73,91,000, and Sai Resort NX constructed over the said land valued at Rs7,46,47,000.
The ED had initiated investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of a complaint filed by the Ministry of Environmental Forest and Climate Change against Mr Parab, M/s Sai Resort, M/s Sea Conch Resort and others, before Dapoli’s Judicial Magistrate for alleged violation of section 19 and section 15 r/w section 7 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
One FIR was also registered by the Dapoli police station against Mr Parab and others for allegedly deceiving and causing loss to the Maharashtra Government.
The ED said in a statement that the PMLA investigation has revealed that Mr Parab, in connivance with Sadanand Kadam, got permission illegally from the local SDO office for conversion of use of land from agricultural to non-agricultural purpose and constructed a resort in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. As per the agency statement, Mr Parab acquired illegal permission from the Revenue Department for construction of a twin bungalow (ground plus one floor) over a piece of land falling under CRZ-III (no-development zone). After acquiring permission, Mr Parab allegedly illegally constructed a ground plus two floors of Sai Resort NX.
The agency further alleged that Mr Parab deliberately hid his identity as owner and obtained the permission in the name of the earlier owner, Vibhas Sathe, from the Revenue Department by forging his signature on the application. He also allegedly deliberately hid the fact that the land falls within CRZ-III before Gram Panchayat and pressured it to transfer it along with the building in his name, although there was no mention of any construction in the original sale deed.
The agency also claimed that he cheated the Gram Panchayat by making an application for taxation before the completion of the entire construction of the building / resort. “It may be mentioned here that the payment for the construction of the resort was made in cash and it commenced before the registration of land in the name of Anil Parab (even though payments were made and land was in his physical possession) in order to hide the identity of the real owner.”
