In connection with its investigation into the alleged Rs 25,000 crore fraud at the Maharashtra State Co-operative (MSC) Bank, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched several locations in Mumbai and Pune. Kadam is a director of Daund Sugar Private Limited, which is under investigation by the ED in this matter.
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The ED case involving the suspected MSC Bank fraud stems from a criminal PIL filed in the Bombay High Court on January 28, 2019. The chairman, MDs, directors, CEOs, and managerial staff of MSC Bank, as well as office-bearers and directors of Sakhar Karkhanas, Soot Girnis, and other processing units, were allegedly fraudulently given loans by the bank, and several illegalities were committed in the process, according to the PIL.
The ED has filed a money laundering case against NCP chairman Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar in connection with the alleged scheme in September 2019, a month before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Income Tax Department searched the directors of four sugar mills in the state, including Daund Sugar, on October 7 for potential tax cheating. Following that, on October 16, the tax department claimed in a statement that it had discovered undeclared income of Rs 184 crore as a result of its October 7 searches, without identifying Pawar or his family.
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The unexplained cash, according to the tax department, were used to buy “a variety of assets, including an office building in a premium location in Mumbai, a residence in a luxury neighbourhood in Delhi, a resort in Goa, agricultural holdings in Maharashtra, and investments in sugar mills.” Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED had temporarily attached land, machinery, and structures of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) in Satara, valued at Rs 65.75 crore, in July.
