ED moves Bombay High Court opposing Anil Parab plea to quash predicate offence in Dapoli money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Bombay High Court opposing a plea filed by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Anil Parab to quash a cheating case registered against him by the Maharashtra Police..Parab has been booked by the ED as well for money laundering based on the case registered by the Maharashtra Police, which forms the "predicate offence" for the money laundering proceedings. .This would be one of the rare instances where the money laundering investigation agency has sought intervention in the proceedings relating to a predicate offence. .Advocates Shardul Singh and Prerna Gandhi appeared for Parab today and sought time to file their reply opposing the ED's application. The Court allowed the same and posted the matter for hearing in the last week of January 2024..The case concerns the purchase of certain land in Dapoli in 2017. In March 2022, the income tax (IT) department conducted raids in several districts of Maharashtra. The raids were linked to a regional transport officer who was allegedly close to Parab.During such raids, the investigators claimed that they discovered irregularities relating to the 2017 purchase of some land in Dapoli.The plot of land, which was owned by Parab, was purchased by one Sadanand Kadam in May 2017, who then built a resort on the property.The department alleged that ₹6 crores was spent on developing the resort, before it was sold in 2020 for just for ₹11 crores. The cost of building the resort had not been accounted for by both Kadam and Parab, the tax authority said.Parab was later booked by the Maharashtra police for allegedly committing offences under Sections 420 (cheating), 463 (forgery), 482 (using false property mark), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 268 (public nuisance) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions under Prevention of Corruption Act.Subsequently, the ED registered a money laundering case following which it raided seven premises linked to Parab and his alleged close aides.Parab then moved the High Court to quash the police case. The plea by Parab has sought the quashing of the first information report (FIR) and chargesheet filed by the State police, in which it was alleged that Parab had made false entries in the official records of the Gram Panchayat regarding the taxation of the land where the resort was built.The ED has now opposed this plea..According to ED, the FIR contains offences which reveal the generation of the proceeds of a crime, which is the basis of the money laundering case registered by the central agency. "The reliefs sought by Parab seek to put an end a part of the predicate offence which forms the substratum of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) proceedings. ED during the course of investigation of proceeds of crime generated from the scheduled offences in the FIR and final report is in a position to demonstrate the modus operandi of the commission of the offences alleged in the FIR and final report. In that sense ED is an 'interested party' which can assist this court in arriving at a finding as to whether the reliefs as sought by the present petitioner ought to be granted or not," the intervention application said. .ED also contended that if its application is not heard, it shall suffer grave and irreparable harm and prejudice.