The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is on a hunt to unearth stolen mountains of wealth from lawmakers. The latest in the clutches of ED is Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut in Maharashtra. Raut was arrested by the ED on Sunday, July 31, 2022, on suspicion of money laundering in the over Rs 1,000 crore Patra Chawl redevelopment scam.
What happened on Sunday? The ED raided Sanjay Raut's bungalow in Bhandup, Mumbai for nearly 8-hours on Sunday in the redevelopment case. The ED came knocking on Raut's doors after he refused to show up for questioning when summoned.
On Sunday, the ED found Rs 11.5 lakh in cash at Raut's residence. Sanjay Raut's MLA brother Sunil Raut claimed that the amount was party fund meant to finance Eknath Shinde's (current Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena rebel) Ayodhya trip.
Sunil Raut also claimed that the ED did not find any documents related to the case. The Raut brothers called it a sham case. Sanjay Raut also claimed that it was an attempt to force him to rebel against the Udhhav Thackeray camp in Shiv Sena and join Eknath Shinde.
An FIR has also been filed against Sanjay Raut for allegedly threatening a woman witness, Swapna Patkar, in the case. He is likely to be produced before the PMLA court in Mumbai on Monday, August 1.
What is the Patra Chawl redevelopment scam? It pertains to a 2008 redevelopment case of a locality in the northern suburbs of Mumbai.
The ED has found what it calls proceeds of crime taken by Pravin Raut, being routed to several close associates including Sanjay Raut's family. There are several flats and plots of land in the name of Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha which were reportedly bought using the stolen money. The ED has found at least eight land parcels jointly owned by Varsha and Swapna Patkar (the witness allegedly threatened in the case), the estranged wife of a businessman.