PMC Bank scam: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's wife appears before ED

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's wife Varsha reached the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office here on Monday afternoon for questioning in connection with an alleged transaction linked to the PMC Bank money laundering case, a police official said.

According to the official, Varsha Raut reached the ED office at Ballard Pier in South Mumbai around 3 pm after she was summoned by the central agency. She was earlier expected to visit the ED office on January 5.

The ED had summoned Varsha Raut in connection with the alleged transfer of funds from the accounts of Pravin Raut, an accused arrested in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case.

The central probe agency has alleged that Pravin Raut had "siphoned off" Rs 95 crore worth of funds from the scam- hit bank in the garb of loan, out of which he paid Rs 1.6 crore to his wife, Madhuri, who subsequently transferred Rs 55 lakh in two tranches to Varsha Raut as an “interest-free loan”.

Pravin Raut was one of the directors in Guruashish Constructions, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). He was arrested along with HDIL directors for illegally availing loans from PMC Bank.