Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut on Saturday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case, reported PTI.
Varsha Raut reached the agency’s office in Mumbai at 10.40 am after she was issued summons on Thursday.
The agency is investigating a case referred to as the Patra Chawl scam, which involves alleged fraud worth Rs 1,034 crore. The alleged fraudulent financial transactions are related to the redevelopment of a chawl – a building consisting of several tenements – in Mumbai.
The Enforcement Directorate has accused Sanjay Raut, his wife and construction company HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhwan of fraudulently raising money for the project to siphon off the amount with no intent to complete the tenement.
On Sunday, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Raut after searching his house in Mumbai for nine hours. He will remain in the agency’s custody till August 8 if his remand is not extended further.
Raut was arrested amid an ongoing legal battle between factions led by Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, both of whom claim to represent the real Shiv Sena.
Earlier, the group led by Shinde rebelled against the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government – a coalition of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
Subsequently, the coalition was ousted from power as the Thackeray-led faction was reduced to a minority in the state Assembly. Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra on June 30, while the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as his deputy.
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