Congress' Nirupam demands probe into Thackeray's Matoshree-2 land deal; alleges laundering

In a major development, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, on Thursday, alleged a link between Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Sterling Biotech scam. Nirupam alleged that Sterling Biotech director Rajbhushan Dixit - who has been arrested and chargesheeted by CBI for bank fraud - had made a transaction with Thackeray in 2016 for the land on which the 7-storeyed building Matoshree-2 has been built. Furthermore, he stated that Bhushan had received only Rs 5.80 crores for the land deal, alleging mismatch in transaction due to the land's high property value.

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Nirupam demands probe into Thackeray's Matoshree-2

He added that people who understood Mumbai property value know that the land situated in the Bandra-Kurla complex, opening towards the sea-face costs much more than that. He alleged that there might be off-the-book cash dealing apart from the official cheque payment paid by the Shiv Sena Supremo to Bhushan, hinting at a money-laundering angle. He demanded that the CBI and ED which is probing into the Sterling Biotech scam, questioning Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel and others, must also look at the Mumbai deal and Thackeray. Nirupam who quit the Sena in 2005 has served as Mumbai Congress chief and has often slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra 

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What is the Matoshree-2 deal?

As per reports, the property originally belonged to artist KK Hebbar and was then passed on to his children. Subsequently, the Malad-based firm Platinum Infrastructure - controlled by Rajbhushan Dixit and Jagbhushan Dixit bought the land and then transferred it to Kalanagar CHS in 2016, after seeking permission from the suburban collector. The Thackerays - Uddhav and Rashmi - who live opposite to the land at their family home Matoshree, then sought a no-objection certificate from Kala Nagar CHS to acquire and redevelop the plot, as per reports. 

The Thackerays have constructed a seven-storied building with a built-up area of 1291.81 sq mt and a parking lot with a capacity of around 15 cars. They were reportedly handed the Full Occupancy and Building Completion Certificate by the BMC in October 2018. The family is yet to move into the residence.

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What is the Sterling Biotech - Sandesaras scam?

As per reports, the Sterling Biotech Ltd promoters - Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Dipti Sandesara have cheated a consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank, UCO Bank, State Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Bank of India, by availing loans of around Rs 9000 crores from the banks' foreign branches. The Sandesaras used overseas companies of the Sterling Biotech Ltd (SBL) group and diverted these funds for non-mandated purposes through domestic as well as offshore entities, as per reports. The ED has attached properties worth Rs 9778 crore of the SBL group in the same bank fraud case.

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