ED registers new ECIR against IPS officer’s husband Purshottam Chavan in ₹32 crore property and fake tender scam | File Photo
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a fresh money laundering case against Purshottam Prabhakar Chavan, husband of Maharashtra-cadre IPS officer Rashmi Karandikar, in connection with a sprawling multi-crore property fraud involving forged government quota property, fabricated Transferable Development Rights (TDRs), and a fake tender scam linked to the Nashik Police Academy for the supply of khaki T-shirts and hoodies.
Chavan is already in judicial custody following his arrest in May last year in a Rs 263 crore income tax refund scam. The latest Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), officials said, consolidates two FIRs registered by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in February, linked to offences committed between March 2015 and April 2024. The ED suspects that the accused laundered proceeds of crime by defrauding individuals through forged property schemes, as part of a larger, organised money laundering network.
In the first case of EOW, Chavan and 11 others allegedly duped at least 20 individuals of Rs 24.78 crore by offering them government quota flats in Mumbai, Thane, and Pune at concessional rates. The probe revealed that Chavan allegedly used forged quota allotment letters and fabricated TDR certificates related to land parcels in these cities to execute the fraud. Several of the properties were located in prime areas of Mumbai.
The EOW investigation alleges that Chavan forged the signature of a Maharashtra government deputy secretary to legitimise fake property and TDR documents. Investigators say he also registered the forged papers through biometric processing at the Thane sub-registrar’s office, lending authenticity to the forged paperwork and enabling further fraudulent sales.
In the second FIR, Chavan is accused of defrauding a Surat-based businessman Raosaheb Desai and others out of Rs 7.42 crore. He allegedly accepted money from the businessman under the false pretence of selling plots from the government quota at a discounted rate. He also allegedly issued a bogus contract for the supply of khaki T-shirts and hoodies to the Maharashtra Police Academy in Nashik,never delivering on his promises, this defrauded him.
In both these cases Chavan was previously arrested by EOW.Chavan has been in judicial custody ever since he was arrested by the ED in May last year in a Rs 263-crore income tax refund (ITR) fraud case.Besides this, the Gujarat police also arrested Chavan a few months ago in connection with a third cheating case.
During the investigation the state financial agency found that a substantial portion of the alleged proceeds of crime (PoC) amounting to Rs 24.78 was invested in the stock market via demat accounts held by accused Chavan and his mother, Urmila Chavan. The EOW has since frozen both accounts. Financial records show that Rs 2.63 crore was directly transferred to his mother’s bank account.
The ED had arrested Chavan in May last year in connection with the Rs 263 crore income tax TDS scam. Following his arrest, the agency conducted searches at the official residence of his IPS wife. During the raid, the ED recovered title deeds for properties in Worli, Parel, Bandra, and Thane, all allegedly linked to the fraudulent government quota scheme. Multiple forged TDR certificates were also seized.
Initially, the ED had handed over evidence of the forged property and TDR documents to the EOW , as the offences did not fall under the First Schedule of PMLA. However, following a deeper probe by the EOW, officials said it became evident that proceeds of crime were routed through bogus deals and shell entities, creating a money laundering trail.
With this, the ED has now formally taken over the investigation and registered a fresh ECIR to probe the laundering angle.
