The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday took major action and raided several locations in Shirdi and Kopargaon. Under the scanner is Nilesh Bhanusaheb Jape, owner of Hotel ‘Marigold’ in Shirdi, whose name has allegedly come up in suspicious financial transactions related to Bhondu Baba Ashok Kharat.
ED teams started the search operation at Jappe’s textile unit located in MIDC area of ​​Kopargaon in the morning. After this, simultaneous raids were conducted at Hotel Marigold and Jappe’s residence in Shirdi. During this time, the officials interrogated Jappe and gathered information about the transactions related to Kharat.
This action was intensified after the interrogation of Kharat’s close associate Arvind Pandurang Bawke. Bawke is currently in judicial custody in Kopargaon upazila of Ahilyanagar district. ED had interrogated him in jail on April 21 and 22 with the permission of the special court under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to sources, during this period important clues of a suspicious money trail related to the hotel business were found.
What has been revealed in the investigation
Investigation has revealed that Kharat had given around Rs 15 crore in cash to Jappe for a land deal in Shirdi last year. This amount was given on interest and there was a condition that if the deal was not done then the amount would be returned with huge interest. At the same time, upon completion of the deal, Kharat was to get a stake in the project.
Although this land deal could not be completed, the surprising thing is that Kharat neither asked for the money back nor took any kind of interest. In such a situation, the investigating agencies suspect that this amount may have been used for money laundering in the hotel sector of Shirdi.
ED is investigating from this angle
ED is now investigating whether Jappe’s business was used to make illegal earnings look legitimate. The agency has summoned Jappe to its office in Mumbai to record his statement.
It is noteworthy that before this, ED has investigated the network of benami properties worth about Rs 500 crore related to Kharat in Nashik, Pune and Solapur. Now the investigation of the hotel sector of Shirdi-Kopargaon is pointing towards a new angle in this case, where more business links are being explored.
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