Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Scam: ED Starts Investigation
Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Scam: ED tightens screws on Prajakt Tanpure, another NCP minister in Maharashtra, 94 acres of land attached.
The ED on Monday attached 94 acres of land belonging to Maharashtra minister Prajakt Tanpure and others in connection with a money-laundering case.
ED starts probing into the alleged scam in the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB).
Tanpure is the Minister of State for Urban Development, Energy, Tribal Development, Higher and Technical Education, and Disaster Management in the Government of Maharashtra.
He is the NCP MLA from the Rahuri assembly seat.
He is the fourth leader of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to face action from the central agency.
It is noteworthy that the alliance of NCP, Shiv Sena, and Congress is currently ruling in Maharashtra. Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik was arrested last week on charges of money laundering.
Whereas his former aide Anil Deshmukh was arrested in a separate case in connection with the recovery of crores every month through the police.
Similarly, a sugar mill linked to state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last year.
Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Scam: Know what is the matter.
The case pertains to allegations of the then officers and directors of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank selling cooperative sugar mills to their relatives and some people at throwaway prices.
The ED case is based on an August 2019 FIR of the Economic Offenses Wing of Mumbai Police.
The police complaint came after the Bombay High Court order on August 22, 2019, investigating allegations of fraudulently selling sugar factories in the Maharashtra cooperative sector.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, 90 acres of the erstwhile Ram Ganesh Gadkari Cooperative Sugar Factory (SSK) in the name of Takshashila Securities Pvt Ltd.
The 4.6 acres of non-agricultural land belonging to Prajakta Tanpure in Ahmednagar district worth Rs 7.6 crore were attached. Is. The total value of these lands has been estimated at Rs 13.41 crore.
ED’s investigation revealed.
MSCB had auctioned the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Cooperative Sugar Factory at a low price in 2007 without following due process.
The land was sold to Prasad Sugar and Allied Agro Products Ltd., a firm of Prajakt Tanpure (son of Prasad Tanpure) for Rs 12.95.
According to the ED statement, the reserve price of this land was Rs 26.32 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate probe found that the auctioneer Prasad Sugar was the sole bidder.
In order to make the bidding process competitive, the signatures of each other bidder were obtained on the bidding documents by the officials of MSCB.
This second bidder did not deposit the required Earnest Money (EMD) and was found to be representative of Prasad Sugar.
