ED arrest one more accused in Rs 263 crore I-T fraud case

Chavan was involved in possession of part of Proceeds of Crime (POC), ED said. He was produced before a special PMLA court that remanded him to ED’s custody up to May 27.

Earlier, four accused persons were arrested in this case, namely Adhikari, Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty, who are in judicial custody. One accused Rajesh Brijlal Batreja is in ED custody.

ED’s action is part of its investigation initiated on the basis of FIR registered by CBI, Delhi under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and others for fraudulently generating and issuing TDS refunds from Income Tax department to the tune of Rs 263.95 crore.

Central agency’s investigation revealed that the accused Rajesh Batreja and Chavan were in regular touch and shared incriminating messages related to hawala transactions and diversion of proceeds of the crime, ED stated.

also raided the residential premises of Chavan on Sunday in which a number of property documents, foreign currency and mobile phones were seized.

The agency has claimed that Chavan tried to hamper the investigation by destroying evidence which could further lead to tracing of proceeds of the crime.

The anti-money laundering agency has already seized and attached immovable/movable properties belonging to the accused persons to the tune of Rs 168 crore in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Prosecution complaint has also been filed in September 2023 against prime accused Adhikari and 10 others.