ED Reveals Hawala Route In Ex-Vasai-Virar Civic Chief Anil Pawar's Money Laundering Case

Probing the money laundering case linked to former Vasai-Virar civic chief Anil Pawar, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the special PMLA court on Wednesday that tainted funds were sent out of India through hawala and angadia channels and remitted back in the accounts of the relatives of the accused to grant legitimacy to the funds.

IAS officer Anil Pawar, officials in custody till Sept 3

Pawar, an IAS officer, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the illegal construction of 41 buildings spread across 60 acres in Vasai-Virar. On the request of ED, the special court remanded Pawar, Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) town planner YS Reddy and builder duo, Sitaram Gupta and Arun Gupta, to judicial custody till September 3. The ED added that it reserves the right to take their custody, if needed.

Illegal construction of 41 buildings flagged

The ED further told the court, “The agency is in process of identifying other suspects and beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime and ascertaining the end utilisation of the money. Investigation has revealed that a well-organised mechanism was in place to channelize the crime proceeds.” The proceeds have been laundered not just within Maharashtra but also have interstate and cross-border linkage, the agency said, adding that tainted cash was brought back in the accounts of relatives and shown as legitimate income.

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Skyrocketing property values traced over years

In its plea, the agency revealed that the total built-up area involved in the construction of 41 unauthorised buildings was approx 3,67,325 sq ft having sale value, ranging from Rs1,000 to Rs1,200 per sq ft as in the 2006-07 depending on the construction type. The price of the units increased to Rs3,000 to Rs4,000 per sq ft in the 2022-23, the ED added. Besides, Pawar in connivance with Reddy had granted commencement certificate for a total built-up area of 5,50,43,263 sq ft in urban and green zone areas, the agency said.

Bribes exchanged for permissions and certificates

The agency claimed that the accused had created an organised mechanism for collection of bribes in lieu of granting various permissions like commencement and occupancy certificates, and revised development nod.