The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned NCP leader and former Union minister Praful Patel in connection with a money laundering case involving Iqbal Mohammed Memon aka Iqbal Mirchi, a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Patel arrived at ED’s Mumbai office at 10.30 am and left only around 10.30 pm. Sources said Patel was questioned on the acquisition of land in Mumbai’s Worli and the agreement between his firm Millennium Developers Pvt Ltd and Mirchi’s wife Hazra Iqbal Memon. According to sources, Patel was also questioned on the payment of multiple personal trips he took between 2010-12, using the aircraft owned by Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), whose promoters are currently under arrest for their involvement in a Rs 4,355 crore fraud at Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. The ED has alleged that Patel’s Millennium Developers Pvt Ltd constructed Ceejay House in 2006-07, and its third and fourth floor was transferred to Hazra Iqbal in 2007 “towards beneficial interest of Mirchi in the land” on which the building was constructed. The agency has also alleged that the sale of the land to Millennium Developers is “through dubious means”, and that the sale proceeds have been “laundered” by Mirchi. Patel has denied any wrongdoing, and has claimed that all dealings pertaining to the property were undertaken under the supervision of the Bombay High Court-appointed Court Receiver. The ED had last week arrested British national Haroun Yusuf and Mumbai resident Ranjeet Singh Bindra on charges of money-laundering related to three properties allegedly owned by Mirchi. The agency is also looking into the sale of three properties of Mirchi in Worli - Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge and Sea View - in 2010 to Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based real estate firm, for Rs 225 crore. The agency has alleged that out of this, at least Rs 127 crore was paid to Mirchi. The probe has allegedly found a witness statement that revealed a payment of 90 million Dirhams via hawala in Dubai for the purchase of the five-star Mid-West Hotel in 2010. In India, Mirchi’s family continues to own properties worth around Rs 500 crore, according to the probe agency. In the case of PMC Bank, the ED has found that Patel travelled multiple times in the aircraft owned by an associate firm of HDIL between 2010 and 2012. Records also show that on several occasions, Patel was accompanied by the two arrested promoters of HDIL— Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan. Patel has said that he does not have any transactions or dealings with HDIL, its promoters and PMC Bank.
