PANAJI
Amidst ongoing investigation into alleged siphoning of Rs 77 crore from the elite United Services Club in Colaba, the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached several properties of the accused, including those in Goa.
The ED stated that its sleuths have provisionally attached 13 immovable and movable properties comprising flats, land/plot, fixed deposit, bank balance, etc in Mumbai, Goa and Madhya Pradesh belonging to the club’s former deputy secretary (finance) Bernadette Bharat Varma, her husband Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma and others. The value is estimated at around Rs 13.44 crore.
“The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Mumbai Police under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 in the matter. ED investigation has revealed that Bernadette, in connivance with her husband, opened/got opened various fake/dummy bank accounts in names similar to the original/regular vendors of the United Services Club and transferred its funds amounting to around Rs 77 crore into such fake bank accounts,” the officials said.
The probe further revealed that these funds, representing proceeds of crime, were further diverted to the personal/joint bank accounts of the Varma couple and their family members/associates.
ED investigation also revealed that the duo utilised the proceeds of crime in acquiring several immovable properties and also invested a part of the same in fixed deposits with various banks.
“Proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 11 crore approx were also transferred to the bank account of M/s Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust) from where funds were subsequently diverted to the bank accounts relating to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members and firms controlled by Chandra Prakash Pandey (who was a Chartered Accountant relating to the US Club) including related persons,” it said. Earlier, 35 properties amounting to Rs 34.51 crore were attached on March 20.
