A special court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take Pravin Raut, an accused in the Patra Chawl redevelopment scam, into custody for questioning in the PACL money-laundering case registered in Delhi, but only after submitting an undertaking that he would be brought back to Arthur Road prison. The ED will also have to wait till the completion of hearing of Raut’s bail plea in the Patra Chawl case.
The agency on Saturday approached the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) court for permission to take Raut to Delhi. The court, however, pointed out how the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj to Lucknow directly from the jail, without any intimation and approval. Hence, the ED was asked for an undertaking. The Wadhawans, promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited, were questioned by the CBI in a loan default case registered in Delhi.
The ED initiated a probe based on an FIR registered by the CBI which claimed that PACL had allegedly collected ₹49,100 crore from investors on the pretext of sale and development of agricultural land.
It was alleged that PACL transferred ₹2,285.79 crore to one Prateek Kumar, who invested ₹94.61 crore in DDPL Global Infrastructure Private Limited and Unicorn Infraprojects and Estates Private Limited. PACL also transferred ₹110.95 crore to Systematix Venture Capital Trust through its 25 front companies. The amount was again invested in DDPL and Unicorn.
The agency has also alleged that using the funds, DDPL and Unicorn bought land parcels in Maharashtra. They entered into agreements with several entities for the sale of floor space index (FSI) and construction of residential-cum-commercial projects from which the two firms earned huge profits.
Raut was taken on board for the projects by DDPL and Unicorn, the ED said. Investigation revealed that DDPL and Unicorn were to transfer 10 lakh square feet of FSI out of the land purchased by Raut after completion of the project. The said FSI transfer was in lieu of settling disputes between original land owners and possession holders to help acquire the land, procure building material, handle local contractors and agents, and get approvals.
It was also alleged that DDPL and Unicorn were supposed to transfer the FSI after receipts of all approvals from government agencies, upon refund of money of investors and stakeholders, and upon refund of loan amount and advances, if any. The ED said it needed to question him to trace the trail of proceeds of crime.
Raut is currently in judicial custody in connection with the Patra Chawl scam. The ED’s case is based on an FIR registered by the economic offences wing of the Mumbai police in 2018 against Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, promoters of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), Guru Ashish Construction Private Limited, a subsidiary of HDIL that undertook the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in Goregaon, and its director Raut among others.
In his bail plea, Raut claimed that he had no role to play in the case and his job was only to get clearances from the MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority), and the dealing with tenants and other parties were done by the Wadhawans.
