Chhagan Bhujbal family's assets worth Rs 300 crore attached

Mumbai: The Income Tax (IT) department has attached benami assets worth Rs 300 crore belonging to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal and his family members. Officials said that the former deputy chief minister acquired the assets by floating a web of around 50 shell companies.

The I-T department has issued notices for provisional attachment of assets of Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer and has identified them as “beneficiaries” of the alleged benami assets. All the accused have been slapped with charges of a newly enacted criminal law, officials said. The I-T department has also issued notices for provisional attachment of assets of the trio.

Sources revealed that the list of attached assets include multi-storeyed residential tower Solitaire, located at Santacruz (west) that has been valued at Rs 11.30 crore, Habib Manor and Fatima Manor building in Bandra (west) to the tune of over Rs 43.61 crore, Nashik-based Girna sugar mills valued at over Rs 80.97 crore and a plot of land in Panvel in Raigad valued at over Rs 87.54 crore (registered in the name of Devisha Infrastructure Pvt Ltd). Investigations revealed that the mill is registered in the name of Armstrong Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, whereas the house is in the name of Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd.

Till date, the probe has revealed at least 44 shell companies, which were used to invest funds in two of the three firms identified as benami. The order, issued after over four months of investigations by a special I-T team, said the probe clearly shows that the properties were acquired out of unexplained funds of the Bhujbal family.  The funds were routed in guise of share at high premium in the group of companies of the Bhujbals, through a web of shell companies based out of Mumbai, Kolkata and other locations.

The IT order considered the findings and statements recorded by the Enforcement Directorate, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The IT department will move for confiscating these assets after getting approval from the Adjudicating Authority of the Act.