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PMC Bank scam: Raut's wife repaid money after being summoned

PMC Bank scam: Raut's wife repaid money after being summoned

Jan 15, 2021
08:47 pm

What's the story

Varsha Raut, the wife of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, repaid Rs. 55 lakh that she took as an "interest-free" loan from the wife of an accused in the PMC Bank scam after she was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). She repaid the money using proceeds from the movie Thackeray, which her husband wrote and she co-produced, TOI reported on Friday.

Scam

What is the scam all about?

The PMC Bank scam pertains to loans given to realty developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). Through specially-created dummy accounts, the bank secretly loaned 73% of its total loan book size (Rs. 8,880 crore) to HDIL, despite non-payments. These transactions were allegedly hidden from Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) audits. When the scam surfaced in 2019, RBI levied curbs on withdrawals.

Trail

Earlier, ED unearthed money trail leading to Varsha

As per ED, Pravin Raut, a director of HDIL's subsidiary Guruashish Constructions Private Limited, siphoned off Rs. 95 crore from PMC Bank in the name of the realty developer. He gave his wife Madhuri Rs. 1.6 crore from the proceeds of the crime and she, in turn, transferred Rs. 55 lakh to Varsha in two installments, in December 2010 and in March 2011.

Partners

Varsha and Madhuri were partners in a company, revealed ED

Further, the central agency learned that Varsha and Madhuri were partners in Avani Construction. As per ED, Varsha received Rs. 12 lakh from this company on a contribution of merely Rs. 5,625. This loan amount is still outstanding, a statement released on January 1 said. On Monday, Varsha submitted documents to ED showing that the money taken from Madhuri has been repaid.

Summons

After skipping summons several times, Varsha recorded statement

After being served with summons four times, Varsha finally appeared before the agency on January 4. She was again asked to appear with some case-related documents, that she sent through her relative. ED also asked Varsha to furnish details of companies, where she was a partner with Madhuri. The money which Varsha received was allegedly spent on buying a flat in Dadar East, Mumbai.

Details

ED assessing if Varsha needs to be called again

Now, ED will be probing the submitted documents and ascertain if Varsha needs to be called for another round of questioning. A former Sena parliamentarian, whose association got Rs. 1 crore from the bank, is under the scanner of ED and so is another politician whose trust got Rs. 1,000 crore from HDIL. This money was defrauded from PMC Bank.

Aftermath

BJP leader said Raut would still have to furnish details

Naturally, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took potshots at Sena after Varsha's name was linked to the scam. Recently, after reports emerged that Varsha repaid the loan, BJP's Kirit Somaiya said Raut will have to give details of the money, nevertheless. "Finally, Sanjay Raut Sahab had to return the money !! But you will also have to give details," he tweeted.

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