Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha Raut appears before ED in PMC Bank money laundering case

According to media reports, Varsha Raut reached the ED's office in Mumbai on Monday afternoon.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Maharashtra based man Pravin Raut, who is Sajany Raut’s friend and former director of Guruashish Constructions Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), which is accused of defrauding PMC Bank of over Rs6,670 crore by fraudulently obtaining nearly 70% of the bank’s overall loans,  had siphoned off Rs 95 crore in the form of loans and transferred Rs 1.6 crore of the funds to his wife Madhuri Raut, who subsequently transferred Rs 55 lakh to Varsha Raut's account in two tranches as an interest-free loan in 2010 and 2011.

This amount was was further utilised for purchase of a flat in Dadar East, Mumbai, according to ED, reported media.

Varsha Sanjay Raut and Madhuri Pravin Raut are partners in Avani Constructions and "Varsha Raut has received Rs 12 lakh from this entity (as overdrawn capital converted to loan) on a contribution of mere Rs 5,625," the ED found in its probe.

This loan amount is still outstanding, said the report.

The ED had issued three summons to Varsha Raut and she had skipped all of them, citing health reasons.

The ED said it has provisionally attached the properties of Pravin Raut under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Probe revealed that Rs 95 crore has been siphoned off through HDIL by one of the accused Pravin Raut in active conspiracy and connivance with various persons.

"The source of the funds were illegal availed loans/advances by HDIL from PMC Bank. There was no document or agreement in support of these payments made to Pravin Raut," the ED alleged in a statement, reported media.

"As per the ledger of HDIL, the funds were given to Pravin Raut for acquiring land in Palghar area," it said, the report added.

Pravin Raut was also arrested by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in February in connection with the Rs1,034 crore redevelopment fraud case, in a case filed by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).