The ED has filed a supplementary charge sheet against NCP MLA Rohit Pawar in the MSCB scam under the money laundering law. Assets worth over ₹50 crore of his company have already been seized.
Maharashtra: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary charge sheet against NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam. This charge sheet has been filed in the special PMLA court in Mumbai. However, the court has not yet formally taken cognizance of it.
Attachment of Assets Before the Charge Sheet
Before filing the charge sheet, the ED had attached assets worth over ₹50.20 crore of Rohit Pawar's company, Baramati Agro. This attachment, which took place in March 2023, included 161.30 acres of land located in the Kannad area of Aurangabad, a sugar mill, machinery, and buildings.
ED Raids and Questioning in January 2023
In January 2023, the ED conducted raids at various locations linked to Rohit Pawar. This included the office of Baramati Agro and other related places. Subsequently, Rohit Pawar, the MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed, was summoned to the ED's Mumbai office for questioning.
Allegations of Irregularities in Property Purchase
The ED alleges that the properties purchased by Baramati Agro originally belonged to the Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. (Kannad SSK). The purchase of these properties was allegedly done through a fraudulent auction process. According to the ED, this process lacked transparency and disregarded the rules.
Role of MSCB and ED's Investigation
The ED's investigation is based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai, in August 2019. That FIR alleged that officials and directors of MSCB had deliberately sold several cooperative sugar mills to their relatives and close private companies at very low prices. This sale was done by disregarding proper procedures and due valuation.
Questions on the 2009 Auction
The ED, in its charge sheet, has stated that MSCB had seized the property of Kannad SSK in 2009 to recover outstanding dues of ₹80.56 crore. Following this, an auction process was initiated by setting a low reserve price based on a suspicious valuation. The ED alleges that this auction was riddled with irregularities.
The Highest Bidder Was Disqualified
According to the investigating agency, the highest bidder in the auction was disqualified on weak grounds. In contrast, a close associate of Baramati Agro, who had neither clear financial capacity nor experience, was declared the winner.
Assets Worth ₹121.47 Crore Seized So Far
According to the ED, provisional attachment orders have been issued three times in this case so far. Under these orders, assets worth a total of ₹121.47 crore have been seized. The ED says that these attachments have now received final approval and a supplementary charge sheet has also been filed in court.
Waiting for the Next Hearing in the Special Court
This case is now pending in the special PMLA court in Mumbai. The court will decide in the upcoming hearing whether or not to take cognizance of the charge sheet. The ED says that the investigation in the case is still ongoing and the role of other parties is also being investigated.
