The Enforcement Directorate has seized cash worth Rs 16.6 lakh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, during raids across multiple locations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. The central agency also discovered a large number of incriminating documents and froze bank balances, fixed deposits and mutual funds worth around Rs 44 crore following the searches.

The ED initiated a probe into a first information report (FIR) registered by Panvel Police against JM Mhatre and Saiyyed Mohammad Abdul Hamid Qadri in connection with the illegal acquisition of forest land. The duo allegedly transferred the forest land to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) illegally and claimed compensation fraudulently. The plots in question include 41.70 hectares (ha) and 110.6 ha in the Mauje Vahal area of Panvel.

The probe revealed that the land was acquired by the Government of Maharashtra in 1975 under the relevant provisions of Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act, 1975, and thereafter, the name of the owner in the 7/12 extract was changed to Forest Department, Government of Maharashtra.