The ED has alleged that the funds used to purchase the cooperative sugar mill were routed through another sugar mill, which in turn had received the money from Sparkling Soil Private Limited, a company linked to Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Pawar.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached assets of a sugar mill worth Rs 65.75 crore linked to a company involving Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and his wife in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) case.
A provisional order has been issued under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching the land, building, structure, plant, and machinery of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) located at Chimangaon-Koregaon in the state’s Satara district.
Assets held in name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd&leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd. Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd holds majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd. Probe revealed Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd is related company to Dy CM Ajit Pawar&Sunetra Ajit Pawar: ED
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2021
The central agency has alleged that the funds used to purchase the cooperative sugar mill were routed through another sugar mill, which in turn had received the money from Sparkling Soil Private Limited, a company linked to Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Pawar. Sunetra is a majority shareholder in the company, The Indian Express reported.
“The assets are currently held in the name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd (an alleged dummy company) and leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd,” it said. “Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd is holding majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills and investigations revealed that the former firm is related a company to Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and Sunetra Ajit Pawar (his wife),” the ED said in a statement
Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar has denied receiving any notice from the Enforcement Directorate. He also denied knowledge about the attachment of Jarendeshwar Sugar Mill in Satara.
The ED claims that Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank conducted an auction of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana in the year 2010 at an undervalued price and without following due procedure.
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“Ajit Pawar was one of the prominent and influential members of Board of Directors of MSCB at the relevant time. The Sahkari Sugar Karkhana was purchased by Guru Commodity Services Pvt. Ltd. and was immediately leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd., which is presently operating the Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana,” the ED said.
The ED had initiated its investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based upon an FIR registered by the Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police in 2019.
Notably, the ED, in the run-up to the state assembly polls in 2019, had registered a money laundering case against NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar in connection with an alleged Rs 25,000-crore scam at MSCB.
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