Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab on 21 June appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering probe being conducted by the agency.
The ED had summoned Parab for questioning in the money laundering probe linked to alleged violation of coastal regulation zone provisions in the construction of a resort in Dapoli beach area of Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.
On Tuesday, Parab reached the ED’s office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at 11.20 am, the sources told PTI. He had earlier skipped the deposition on 15 June citing official work.
The federal agency wants to question and record Parab’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials earlier said.
The ED raided multiple locations in Maharashtra on May 26 as part of a money laundering investigation into Anil Parab and others in connection with alleged irregularities in a land deal in Ratnagiri district’s coastal Dapoli area and other charges.
After the federal agency filed a new case under the criminal portions of the PMLA, locations in Dapoli, Mumbai, and Pune were searched.
Anil Parab (57), the state transport minister, is a three-time Shiv Sena politician in Maharashtra’s legislative council. The ED action stems from charges that Parab purchased a plot of land in Dapoli in 2017 for ₹1 crore, but it was only registered in 2019. The agency is also looking into certain additional allegations.
The site was allegedly sold to Sadanand Kadam, a Mumbai-based cable company, for ₹1.10 crore in 2020. Between 2017 and 2020, a resort was built on the same property. An earlier probe by the Income Tax Department said that building of the resort began in 2017 and that over ₹6 crore was spent in cash on the project.
Parab was previously questioned by the ED in connection with another money laundering case involving former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who informed ED authorities that Anil Parab had furnished him with unofficial police officer transfer lists.
