Mumbai PMLA Court Issues Process in ₹17.70-Crore Money Laundering Case
A special PMLA court in Mumbai issued process on September 9 against Ashok Kharat and five other accused, including his wife, taking cognisance of a prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with money laundering amounting to ₹17.70 crore.
The court stated that the repetition of the same modus operandi across multiple first information reports indicated that the generation of proceeds of crime was systematic and continuous rather than isolated. Formal legal proceedings were initiated against Kharat, his wife Kalpana Kharat, Arvind Bawake, Namkaran Aware, Avinash Kandekar, and Milind Bankar.
According to the prosecution complaint submitted by the Enforcement Directorate, Kharat allegedly projected himself as an incarnation of 'Krishna', claiming to possess religious and spiritual authority along with special and supernatural powers. The agency alleged that he used these claims to extort money from numerous people.
The central investigative agency's probe revealed that Kharat, while working as a manager of Samata Nagari Sahakari Maryadit Patsanstha Rahata, opened 48 special savings accounts and 34 benami accounts at Shri Jagdamba Mata Gramin Shakari Patssanstha in Sinnar. He allegedly used the identity documents of his followers to complete fraudulent KYC procedures, while the other accused persons facilitated fraudulent property transactions.
The agency submitted that bank accounts, fixed deposits, and high-end vehicles were registered in the names of Kharat and the other accused individuals. The total value of the properties identified by investigators stood at ₹17.70 crore.
The court observed that the complaint and the material placed on record prima facie depicted a consistent and systematic course of conduct by Kharat, aided by the other accused. The court noted that multiple FIRs were registered against the accused for gathering substantial assets through proceeds of crime by luring victims with claims of divine powers. The court directed all the accused persons to appear before it before September 22.
