The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, 4 August, summoned Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha Raut in the Patra Chawl money laundering case.
This comes days after Sanjay Raut was arrested by the ED in the land scam case around midnight on Monday, after the ED conducted a nine-hour search at his Bhandup bungalow, during which Rs 11.5 lakh in cash was seized.
The politician has been remanded to ED custody till 8 August.
In 2021, the ED had questioned Varsha Raut in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative bank fraud case.
How Is Varsha Raut Linked to the Patra Chawl Case?
The case in which Raut has been arrested concerns the crucial Patra Chawl Development project that has been underway in Maharashtra for over a decade.
The ED has alleged a scam of a whopping Rs 1,039.79 crore in the project, and part of the mammoth account was traced back to properties owned by Sanjay Raut's wife, Varsha Raut.
An ED statement alleges that during 2010, part of the proceeds of the alleged money laundering in the development project, amounting to Rs 83 lakh, was received by Sanjay Raut's wife. The amount was transferred to her by Madhuri Raut, wife of Pravin Raut.
This amount was utilised by Varsha Raut for the purchase of a flat in Dadar. Further, eight plots of land at the Kihim beach in Alibaug were also purchased under the names of Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, who is a close associate of Sanjay Raut.
"It is also revealed that after initiation of ED investigation the amount of Rs 55 Lakhs was transferred by Smt Varsha Raut to Mrs Madhuri Raut. There are also various other transactions," the financial watchdog had earlier stated.
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