Tejas Navale

Pune: Yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended one more accused, Purushottam Chavan, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in the Rs 263 crore Income Tax Return Scam case. When he was presented before the court, the court remanded him in ED custody until May 27.

According to the complaint filed by ED, the accused prepared fake TDS returns of Rs 263 crore while working in the Income Tax Department of Mumbai. After this scam came to light, the ED seized a portion of the Proceeds of Crime (POC). ED earlier suspected the accused's involvement in it. Accordingly, the ED apprehended Chavan yesterday, after the investigation.

After his arrest, Chavan was produced before a special PMLA court. At that time, the court sent him to ED custody until May 27. Earlier, four accused, including officers Bhushan Patil and Rajesh Shetty, were arrested in this case. Both are currently in judicial custody, whereas one accused, Rajesh Brijlal Batreja, is in ED custody.

The action by the ED is part of the investigation initiated by the CBI, Delhi, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and others in the Rs 263.95 crore IT fraud case. The ED investigation revealed that accused Rajesh Batreja and Chavan were in regular contact. They sent messages to each other about crimes related to hawala transactions and diversion of crime proceeds, the ED told the court.

During the raid on Chavan's residence on Sunday, ED successfully confiscated property documents, foreign currency, and mobile phones. ED further accused Chavan of tempering evidence to obstruct the investigation.

The ED has already seized Rs 168 crore worth of immovable and movable assets of accused persons in Maharashtra and Karnataka in the case of money laundering. Further, a detailed charge sheet was also filed against the main accused officer and 10 others in September 2023.