PMC Bank case: ED nod for sale of Rs 200 crores worth properties of Wadhwans

The Enforcement Directorate has given its nod for sale of two private jets and a yacht owned by HDIL promoters Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan in connection with the PMC Bank scam.

In a reply filed in a court on a petition of PMC administrators seeking detachment of Wadhwans' properties, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has no objection to the sale of jets and yacht worth around Rs 200 crores.

"The ED does not have any objection for the disposal of the aeroplanes and yachts by the EOW (Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police)," the agency submitted in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

The sale of the two jets and yacht has received no-objection from all the parties in the case.

The Punjab and Maharashtra Bank (PMC), through its RBI-appointed administrators, had moved the court seeking sale of HDIL's attached and mortgaged properties to repay its depositors.

However, the ED said it "can't give NOC for attached cars as it's being considered by Adjudicating Authority under PMLA (Prevention of Money laundering Act), adding that it has not attached any mortgaged property of the Wadhwans.

In two raids properties last month, the ED had seized several luxury cars including Bentley RW, BMW-RW, Rolls Royce Phantom-RW, two Mahindra Scorpios, Mercedez Benz, two Range Rovers, Toyota Innova, Toyota Fortuner, an Audi Q7 and two electric cars owned by the Wadhwans who are currently in the ED custody.

The court will pass an order on the sale of the three properties on November 25.

In September, the RBI had restricted activities of the PMC Bank for six months and asked it not to grant or renew any loans and advances after major financial irregularities were reported.

PMC Bank is a multi-state scheduled urban cooperative bank with operations in Maharashtra, New Delhi, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. With a network of 137 branches, it ranks among the top 10 cooperative banks in the country.