In one of the first cases of Money Laundering by the Real estate promoter, the properties worth atleast Rs.900 crores were attached by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs 904 crore of the DSK Group for allegedly defrauding small investors. Law Enforcement agencies are investigating the fraud for serious offenses. In addition to Pune Police, the Serious Fraud Investigations office is also believed to be investigating the DSK Group in various frauds.
The ED is probing the financial transactions of group under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Clout enjoyed by DSK required financial institutions to disburse loans to his legitimate business. DSK Limited was once listed on the stock exchange. Pune-based realtor Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni, his wife Hemanti and their son and executive director of the group, Shirish, allegedly floated eight partnership firms to conduct the criminal activity in Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur to collect deposits from gullible investors.
The agency said between 2006 and 2017, the firms raised huge amounts of money (Estimated Rs 1,129 crore) from over 35,000 investors. In order to recover the proceeds of crime, ED seized the assets such as land, buildings, flats, insurance policies and cash deposits in bank accounts.
The ED statement said the three officials of the group, “layered and integrated” the funds received by the eight partnership firms “through various high-value sham transactions under cover of capital, advance against property and director’s loan between 40 group companies” of DSK to project dirty money as money obtained from legitimate sources.
The ED has alleged that the money was then laundered to shell companies in India and the United States, as well as to the bank accounts of the Kulkarnis.
The ED statement also said the laundered money was utilised to purchase properties in India and the US, to repay bank loans and to purchase high-value LIC policies for the Kulkarni family.
