The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Varsha Raut, wife of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, in connection with the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank scam case, officials told news agency ANI on Wednesday. Varsha Raut has to appear before ED for inquiry on January 11.
On December 4, Varsha Raut appeared before the ED for questioning in connection with an alleged transaction linked to the PMC Bank money laundering case.
The ED had summoned Varsha Raut in connection with the alleged transfer of funds from the accounts of Pravin Raut, an accused arrested in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case.
The central probe agency has alleged that Pravin Raut had "siphoned off" Rs 95 crore worth of funds from the scam-hit bank in the garb of loan, out of which he paid Rs 1.6 crore to his wife, Madhuri, who subsequently transferred Rs 55 lakh in two tranches to Varsha Raut as an "interest-free loan."
Pravin Raut was one of the directors in Guruashish Constructions, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). He was arrested along with HDIL directors for illegally availing loans from PMC Bank.
In September last year, the RBI had capped the withdrawal limit and restricted the activities of the PMC Bank after an alleged fraud of Rs 4,355 crore came to light.
The Enforcement Directorate had later seized and identified movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 3,830 crore owned by Housing Development Infrastructures Ltd (HDIL) in connection to the case.
(Inputs from ANI and PTI)
