Mumbai, September 15, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 13 movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 13.44 crore in Mumbai, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh in connection with an alleged Rs 77-crore diversion of funds from the United Services (US) Club, the agency said on Monday.
Assets Attached Across States
The assets, attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), include flats, land and plots, fixed deposits and bank balances belonging to Bernadette Bharat Varma, who served as the Deputy Secretary (Finance) of the US Club, her husband Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma and others, the agency said.
The ED has alleged that Bernadette Varma, in active connivance with her husband, systematically diverted funds belonging to the club through fake and dummy bank accounts opened under names deceptively similar to those of the club's regular vendors.
The agency alleged that around Rs 77 crore belonging to the Club was transferred to these dummy and fake accounts. The funds, which the ED has identified as Proceeds of Crime (PoC), were subsequently diverted to the personal and joint bank accounts of the Varmas, their family members and associates.
Properties Acquired With Funds
The couple allegedly utilised a portion of the PoC to acquire multiple immovable properties and parked funds in fixed deposits across various financial institutions.
The ED's money laundering investigation was initiated following an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Foundation Route Under Probe
The ED's investigation also traced an alleged diversion of around Rs 11 crore routed through a trust named the Jyotirgamay Foundation. According to the agency, this capital was transferred to the foundation's bank accounts before being systematically siphoned off to entities linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members, and firms controlled by him, as well as other related persons.
Pandey was the Chartered Accountant officially associated with the US Club during the period under scrutiny.
Earlier Attachment In March
This latest enforcement action follows an earlier provisional attachment order executed by the central agency in March, during which 35 properties valued at approximately Rs 34.51 crore were attached in connection with the same multi-crore embezzlement scandal.
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The ED stated that further investigations into the complete money trail, the ultimate utilisation of the PoC, and the identification of additional beneficiaries are currently underway.
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