Former Maharashtra Minister and leaders named in MSCB money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has named former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Prajakt Tanpure and others in two supplementary chargesheets filed recently before a special court here in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) money laundering probe.

Tanpure was minister of state for urban development, energy, tribal development, higher and technical education and disaster management in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

His father Prasad Tanpure, a former MP, has also been named as an accused in the case.

Besides the father son-duo, the other accused include former state minister and Congress leader Ranjeet Deshmukh, Shiv Sena leader Arjunrao Panditrao Khotkar, builder Jugal Kishor Tapadiya and industrialist Padmakar Muley.

The two supplementary chargesheets were filed on August 24 and August 25 before a special PMLA court here.

The central probe agency had, in March this year, filed its first chargesheet in the case against three accused, including a firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra. However, the Pawar couple was not named as accused in the chargesheet.

In the fresh chargesheet, the ED has added names of 11 accused, including businessmen and four firms.

The case pertains to an alleged scam in the Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (SSK) co-operative sugar factories and Sahakari Soot Girnis.

The ED's action is based on an FIR of August 26, 2019 registered by the Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai police under various sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

The FIR was lodged in pursuance to the Bombay High Court's order of August 22, 2019 over allegations that the cooperative sugar factories known as Sahkari Sakhar Karkhana (SSKs) were fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) at throwaway prices to related entities without following due procedure.

Investigation conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 revealed that MSCB undertook auction of Ram Ganesh Gadkari SSK in 2007 at undervalued price and without following due process.

The said SSK was sold to Prasad Sugar and Allied Agro Products Ltd, a firm of Prajakt Tanpure, for mere Rs 12.95 crore against the reserve price of Rs 26.32 crore, as per the chargesheet.

Prajakt Tanpure, the then director of Prasad Sugar and Allied Agro Products Limited, was in-charge of all the affairs of the company. As per the chargesheet, all the illegalities regarding acquiring the SSK and later selling it took place “with his active involvement”.

He was also involved in shifting, dismantling and erecting the machinery of SSK factory and selling its land to Takshashila Securities Pvt Ltd, Nagpur, for Rs 4.19 crore, the chargesheet said.

As per the ED, the former minister has indulged himself in criminal activities by conspiracy and channelling of illicit funds.

He has acquired, possessed, used and later sold the proceeds of crime by carrying out criminal activities related to scheduled offences under the PMLA Act, as per the ED.

The chargesheet further said Prajakt Tanpure's father, Prasad Tanpure, was on the board of directors of MSCB when the auction of the SSK took place.  This was conflict of interest as Prasad Tanpure was on the board of MSCB and his son Prajakt Tanpure was bidding for Prasad Sugar & Allied Agro Products, it said.

The probe agency further claimed it was due to the influence of Prasad Tanpure that other bank directors and then chairman Manikrao Patil did not intervene in implementing the rules and regulations during the auction.

Thus, Prasad Tanpure acted as the link between his son and MSCB officials, which resulted in the sale of SSK in contravention of various rules of SARFEASI, 2002.

He also provided a fund of Rs 25 lakh from his personal account for purchasing SSK, it said.

The ED claimed the father son-duo also approached and later negotiated with Ranjeet Deshmukh, a Congress leader, to sell 110 acres of land belonging to SSK at a meagre amount of Rs 4.19 crore.

In 2011, Takshashila Securities, a firm owned by Deshmukh's son, purchased 110 acres of the SSK land from Prasad Sugar and Allied Agro, it said.