A Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court on Thursday extended the remand of Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut in the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl redevelopment scam case till August 8, even as the ED summoned his wife Varsha Raut for questioning in the same case on Friday.
While extending Raut's ED remand till August 8, Judge MG Deshpande of the Special PMLA court noted: "Certainly facts of the investigation demonstrate three stages (placement, integration, laundering) and they require further probe, by summoning witnesses and confronting accused. However I am of the opinion that the same can be done till August 8. Wherein ED can look into all aspects".
Taking cognisance of the submissions made by the ED seeking extension of Raut's custody, the Judge observed that since some more amounts had been revealed during the investigations along with bank statements establishing further trail, the ED had made "remarkable progress" in its probe. The extension of Raut's ED custody by four more days came on a day when the ED summoned his wife Varsha Raut for questioning in the alleged money laundering case linked to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl redevelopment scam case, in which her husband is being investigated currently.
After questioning her at its Ballard Pier office on Friday, the ED is expected to confront Varsha with her husband Sanjay Raut during the weekend. Raut, who was detained by the ED on July 31 after a raid on his Bhandup residence and his questioning that lasted for more than nine hours, was formally placed under by the investigating agency at 12.05 am on August 1 under sub-section (1) of section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The PMLA court had earlier remanded Raut to ED custody till August 4.
The ED is investigating the alleged irregularities in a money laundering case pertaining to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl by Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).
The ED's action against Raut came nearly two months after the investigating agency attached provisionally properties worth Rs 11.15 crore belonging to three persons, including Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha Raut, under the PMLA in a case relating to the alleged irregularities in the Patra Chawl redevelopment project in Mumbai.