As part of its ongoing investigations into the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank Ltd. scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided five premises belonging to the Viva Group and its associates in Mumbai and Palghar and seized a cash of Rs 73 lakh.
Following upon the leads got it by that a large amount of money had allegedly been transferred from HDIL to Mehul Thakur-controlled companies and trusts the ED raided Viva Group’s offices at Andheri and Virar in Palghar district, residences of its top officials at Andheri, Juhu and Chembur in Mumbai.
In the raids conducted on three premises linked to the Viva Groups’ head and two others connected with chartered accountants/financial consultants, the ED seized Rs 73 lakh in cash and incriminating documents.
It may be recalled that after the PMC bank scam broke out in September 2019, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police had arrested two promoters of the Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) Sarang Kumar Wadhawan and Rakesh Wadhawan in connection with 5366 crore PMC Bank scam.
Subsequently, the ED launched a probe against HDIL’s promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, PMC Bank’s former Chairman Waryam Singh and MD Joy Thomas, in connection with the same scam.
The ED seized several properties of Rakesh Wadhawan and Wadhawan Family Trust worth Rs.293 crore, while it also seized jewellery worth Rs.63 crore were seized and attached and launched proceedings against them under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA).
The investigations had revealed that the Wadhawans and Viva Group connived to divert over Rs.160-crore from HDIL to many companies of the latter (Viva Group) disguised as ‘commission’, though the funds were apparently an illegal diversion from the PMC Bank.
Simultaneously, the ED started probing another case against Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan for siphoning off a long of Rs.200 crore sanctioned by Yes Bank to the Mack Star Marketing Pvt. Ltd., by allegedly showing some fictitious purposes.