MSC Bank Scam Case: Company Linked To NCP’s Ajit Pawar Named In ED Chargesheet

In July 2021, the ED had attached properties including land, building and machinery of Jarandeshwar Cooperative Sugar Mill, linked to Ajit Pawar and his wife, worth Rs 65 crore in the MSCB scam case

A company linked to former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Ajit Pawar has been named in a chargesheet submitted by the Enforcement Directorate in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case. As per a report by news agency ANI, while the company, Jarandeshwar Cooperative Sugar Mill,  linked to Pawar has been named in the chargesheet, it does not include the NCP leader or his wife’s name.  

The hearing in the matter has been listed for April 19, reported the news agency. 

Speaking on the enforcement agency not naming Pawar and his wife in the chargesheet, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut alleged BJP misuing ED and CBI. 

"You started an investigation, harrassed the Pawar family and their relatives and raided their premises. Now you don't find anything against them to name them in the chargesheet. It's clear that ED and CBI were misused in this case too," Raut said. 

In July 2021, the ED had attached properties including land, building and machinery of Jarandeshwar Cooperative Sugar Mill, worth Rs 65 crore.

A provisional order was issued under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching the land, building, structure, plant and machinery of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) located at Chimangaon-Koregaon in the state's Satara district.

The total value of the assets was Rs 65.75 crore which was the purchase price of the property in 2010, the ED had said.

"The assets are currently held in the name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd (an alleged dummy company) and leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd," it added.

"Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd is holding majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills and investigations revealed that the former firm is related to Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Sunetra Ajit Pawar (his wife)," the ED had said in a statement.

The ED had began the investigation in the PMLA case based on an FIR by the Mumbai Police's economic offences wing (EOW) in 2019 that alleged that SSK was fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of MSCB at a very low price to their own relatives "without following" due procedure.

“Ajit Pawar was one of the prominent and influential members of the Board of Directors of MSCB at the relevant time. The Sahkari Sugar Karkhana was purchased by Guru Commodity Services Pvt. Ltd. and was immediately leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd., which is presently operating the Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana,” the ED said.