The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai zonal office announced the arrest of one more person in the ₹263 crore Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) scam case. The accused, Purshottam Chavan, was arrested on May 20, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED announced in a press statement released on May 22. This brings the total number of arrested accused to five.
The arrested accused, Purshottam Chavan, was subsequently produced before the Special PMLA Court here, and was charged with possessing proceeds of crime (PoC).
Earlier, four persons were arrested in the same case - Tanaji Mandal Adhikari, Bhushan Patil, Rajesh Shetty, and Rajesh Brijlal Batreja.
“The ED initiated investigation on the basis of First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi, under various sections of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and others for fraudulently generating and issuing Tax Deducted at Source refunds from the Income Tax Department to the tune of ₹263.95 crores,” an ED official said.
The investigation revealed that Rajesh Brijlal Batreja and Purshottam Chavan were in touch regularly and shared incriminating messages related to hawala transactions and diversion of PoC.
On May 19, a search operation was also conducted at the residential premise of Purshottam Chavan at which time a number of property documents, foreign currency, and mobile phones were recovered. “It was also found that Purshottam Chavan tried to hamper the investigation by destroying evidence which could further lead to tracing of PoC.
Consequently, Purshottam Chavan was arrested for his involvement in dealing with PoC under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, on Monday and was produced before the Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai on the same day. The court has granted the ED custody till May 27.
Immovable and movable properties to the tune of ₹168 crore have been identified and seized and attached earlier in the same case. The prosecution complaint has also been filed on September 11, 2023, against Tanaji Mandal Adhikari and 10 others, cognisance of which was also taken by the Special PMLA Court. Further investigation in the case is under way.
