ED Raid: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it seized Rs 1.62 crore in cash, mostly Rs 2,000 denomination notes, during raids against a man accused of extortion, murder and liquor smuggling in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Daman. The probe agency said in a statement that raids were carried out on June 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at nine residential and commercial premises of Suresh Jagubhai Patel and his associates in Daman and Valsad in Gujarat. The ED said Suresh Jagubhai Patel and his associates – Ketan Patel, Vipul Patel and Miten Patel – are in judicial custody in connection with the 2018 double murder in Daman.
Cash worth Rs 1.62 crore recoveredThe ED said the money laundering case against Patel and his associates includes coercion, corruption in Gujarat and Mumbai, recovery of illegal arms, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, liquor smuggling, robbery, assault on public servants and passport forgery, among other offences. stems from 35 FIRs registered in The probe agency said Rs 1.62 crore in cash was recovered as a result of the raids, of which over Rs 1 crore was in Rs 2,000 denomination notes.
suspicious documents recoveredApart from this, over 100 property-related documents and keys of three bank lockers as well as suspicious papers about companies, establishments and cash transactions have been recovered, the ED said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes from circulation. However, people have been given time till September 30 to deposit such notes in accounts or convert them into banks.
The ED alleged that the accused created a web of companies and most of these were “not carrying on business or carrying very little business”. He claimed that the sole purpose of forming these companies was “to launder money illegally acquired from criminal activities”.
The federal probe agency found that “over Rs 100 crore in cash was deposited” in the bank accounts of Suresh Patel, his family members and companies controlled by them. Suresh Patel is accused in Gujarat in more than 10 cases of liquor smuggling, seven cases of forgery and cheating, eight cases of murder or attempt to murder, five cases of possession of illegal arms and one case of corruption.
CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to the opposition parties, appealed to discuss the central ordinance t) ED raid
