PMC Bank Scam: Shiv Sena PM Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha has once again skipped the summon and did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank scam case. As per the initial reports, Varsha Raut has cited personal reasons and has sought time from the probe agency till 5 January.

In the investigation by Enforcement Directorate in the PMC bank scam, the agency has found that Varsha Raut and Madhuri Praveen Raut were directors in the company named Siddharth Syscom Private Ltd while the third director in this company is Supriya Raju Parulkar.

Siddharth Syscom Private Ltd had been formed in 2007, and the company was registered at an address in Mumbai's Malad West. It had three directors, the share capital share of this company was ₹ 5 lakh. According to the documents, the company is enaged in accounting, book keeping and auditing tax advice, market research and public opinion polling etc.

Meanwhile,  launching a veiled attack on the Centre after the ED summoned his wife, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged Central agencies were being used to "destabilise" the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra and claimed BJP leaders had been in touch with him for over a year to effect this plan.



'We Are Middle Class People, Have Been In Touch With ED' 

Saying his wife is a teacher, Raut said unlike leaders of the BJP, "our income has not grown by Rs 1,600 crore". "This politics is played out of frustration when you cannot fight your political opponents face to face. Shiv sena will respond to this in an equal measure," he said.

The summons for questioning has been issued to her under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED wants to question Varsha Raut with regard to "receipt" of some funds that were allegedly siphoned from the bank, official sources told PTI.

The ED had filed a PMLA case to probe the alleged loan fraud in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank in October last year against the Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), its promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, its former chairman Waryam Singh and ex-managing director Joy Thomas.

The agency took cognisance of a Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing FIR against them for allegedly causing "wrongful loss, prima facie to the tune of Rs 4,355 crore to PMC Bank, and corresponding gains to themselves".

Raut said there was no way he was keeping the federal agency in dark and had been doing regular correspondence with it since November regarding a Rs 50 lakh loan taken by his wife ten years ago from a friend to purchase a house.

It is said that the loan had no collateral or security.

The MP said all the documents and details regarding this loan had already been submitted to the ED during the last one and a half month.

"We are middle class people. My wife had taken a loan from a friend 10 years ago to purchase a house. Details have been given to the Income Tax (department) and also mentioned in my Rajya Sabha affidavit. The ED woke up to this deal after ten years," he wondered.



"When the ED itself did not mention that the correspondence was regarding the PMC Bank scam case and HDIL, then how can BJP leaders say so?" he asked.

Raut Claims He Has A List Of 120 BJP Leaders 

The Shiv Sena leader alleged that some BJP leaders speaking against him since December 27 and used to be seen at the ED office (in south Mumbai) and "took away some documents from the office", reported PTI.

Raut claimed he had a full list of "120 BJP leaders who are fit case for a probe by the ED for money laundering". However, he refrained from disclosing any names.