less than a fortnight after the State Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a charge-sheet against him in the new Maharashtra Sadan scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal for questioning on March 14 in connection with two money laundering cases registered against him, his family members and associates.
While Bhujbal’s nephew Sameer Bhujbal, a former NCP MP from Nashik, who as arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case, is currently judicial custody, his son Pankaj has already been subjected to three rounds of questioning by the investigating officials.
Now, the ED has begin to tighten the screws on senior Bhujbal. “The ED has summoned him in money laundering and FEMA cases vis-a-vis Maharashtra Sadan scam and other cases,” BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who has been spear-heading a campaign senior Bhujbal and his family members for alleged corruption, said.
Sameer was arrested by the ED on February 1 under various provisions of provisions of Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) in a case of money laundering, siphoning off funds and causing a loss of `840 crore to the exchequer, of which `114 crores has reportedly been recovered.
In its first remand application filed before the city court, the ED stated that funds were also laundered in the guise of purported sale of shares on high premium by channelling huge cash to the tune of approximately `125 crores in banking transactions.
The Enforcement Directorate had made Samir’s arrest as part of the two Economic Case Information Reports (ECIRs) registered on June 17 against former PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, his family members and others under the provisions of PMlA.
The two ECIRs, registered against Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj, nephew Samir and 19 others, relate to the alleged illegal transactions to the tune of several hundred crores, under the provisions of PMlA. Between 2007 and 2011, Pankaj and Samir were directors of Parvesh Construction, a firm which executes redevelopment projects in Mumbai.
Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Samir had come under the State ACB’s scanner for the alleged irregularities in handing over the contracts to a developer close to Bhujbals, KS Chamankar for three projects that the PWD had handed to the latter while he was heading the ministry in the previous Democratic Front (DF) Government.
On February 24, the State ACB formally registered a charge-sheet against Chhagan Bhujbal in a city court here the new Maharashtra Sadan scam case.
Apart from Bhujbal who had been the Deputy Chief Minister from October 18, 1999 to December 23 2003 and was the Public Works Minister in the previous DF Government, the others were who charge-sheeted in the scam were his son Pankay, nephew Samir and 14 others.The charge-sheet, which runs into 20,000 pages, contains statements by 20 witnesses.
The action initiated by the ACB and ED against Bhujbals was in line with a directive given on December 18, 2014. Observing that there was merit in the allegations and there was a clear case of kickbacks and money laundering, the HC division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice BA Colabawala had constituted an SIT comprising of the ACB and the ED-- into the allegations that the Bhujbal family-run trust had received kickbacks to the tune of `82 crore from private contractors.