Mumbai: ED conducts raids in money laundering case against businessman Patkar

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted raids at 15 locations in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against businessman Sujit Patkar an official told news agency PTIPatkar and his three partners allegedly bagged Mumbai civic body contracts fraudulently for managing Covid19 field hospitals during the pandemic the official told PTIThe raids were being conducted at locations of some officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and other people including IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal in connection with the Covid19 hospital management contracts he saidThe Azad Maidan police station in Mumbai registered a forgery case against Lifeline Hospital Management Services firm Patkar and his three partners in August last yearBased on the FIR the ED had registered a case to investigate the money laundering angle the official told PTIBMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal appeared before the ED in January this year in connection with alleged irregularities in award of contracts for the health facilities during the pandemic Sujit Patkar is said to be a close associate of Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut reported PTIMeanwhile the Enforcement Directorate ED on Wednesday said it has seized Rs 162 crore in cash most of it in Rs 2000 denomination following a raid against a man accused of extortion murder and liquor smuggling in Gujarat Maharashtra and DamanNine residential and commercial premises of Suresh Jagubhai Patel and his associates were searched in Daman and Gujarats Valsad on June 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA the probe agency said in a statementSuresh Jagubhai Patel and his accomplices Ketan Patel Vipul Patel and Miten Patel are in judicial custody in connection with a 2018 double murder in Daman the probe agency saidThe money laundering case stems from more than 35 FIRs filed against Patel and his associates by the police in Daman Gujarat and Mumbai on charges of corruption possession of illegal firearms murder attempt to murder extortion liquor smuggling possession of illegal firearms robbery attack on government employees and passport forgery among others the ED saidThe searches resulted in the seizure of cash worth Rs 162 crore including more than Rs 1 crore in Rs 2000 notes documents related to more than 100 properties and incriminating papers about firms companies establishments and cash transactions apart from three bank locker keys it saidThe RBI had recently announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 currency notes from circulation but gave the public time till September 30 to either deposit such notes in accounts or exchange them at banksWith inputs from PTI