The Enforcement Directorate has recovered Rs 1.62 crore in Rs 2,000 notes from the hideouts of notorious criminal Suresh Jagubhai Patel. The recovery was made during raids at the hideouts of Patel in Gujarat's Valsad and the Union Territory of Daman. Along with the cash in Rs 2,000 denominations, several incriminating documents were also seized.
The Reserve Bank of India on May 19 decided to withdraw the highest denomination note of Rs 2,000 from circulation as a part of currency management. In value term, the share of 2,000 denomination notes (Rs 3.62 lakh crore) was at 10.8 per cent as on March 23, according to news reports.
According to news agency IANS's report, the documents seized in the raids at Patel's hideouts included papers of various firms and nearly 100 properties, power of attorney papers, and digital transaction trails. Keys to three bank lockers were also seized. The ED's raids were part of its investigation into a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Suresh Jagubhai Patel, alias Sukha, is being investigated for various complaints of corruption, possession of illegal firearms, murder, forgery and extortion. The complaints were registered with the Daman Police, the Gujarat Police, and the Mumbai Police.
Apart from these offence, Patel was allegedly involved in over 35 cases of liquor smuggling, murder, extortion, attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms, robbery, attacks on government servants, and passport forgery in Gujarat and Daman.
An ED officer was quoted by IANS as saying: "The investigation by the ED revealed that Suresh Patel and his accomplices created a network of companies, many of which had no or very little business. These companies were established with the sole purpose of laundering ill-gotten money generated from their criminal activities, such as bootlegging, extortion, and corruption. It was discovered that the bank accounts of Suresh Patel, his family members, and the companies controlled by him had been credited with cash worth over Rs 100 Crore."
Patel was convicted in a case registered under section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code (offender failing to appear at the specified place and the specified time). Patel and three of his aides Ketan Patel, Vipul Patel, and Miten Patel are in judicial custody in a 2018 double-murder case registered in Daman.