Court orders 1st confiscation under PMLA in Maharashtra

A special PMLA court here has ordered the confiscation of Rs 2.60 crore in bank deposits of a firm in connection with a money laundering case, the first such ruling in Maharashtra.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had probed the case and attached the bank deposits lying in the accounts of a firm, Ms Sadhrta Retail Limited, whose directors were Anjana Upendra Chokshi and Kaustubh Upendra Chokshi, the agency said in a statement.

It said the Chokshi's duped 1,100 investors in 2009 as part of an alleged ponzi scheme and that they are "absconding".

The ED said its probe revealed that the accused "floated a scheme --double the money in 20 days -- with an intention to cheat people by giving a false reason of pre-IPO (initial public offer) of their company."
It said the amount so collected by the accused was "projected as untainted in the account books of the companies -- Ms Sadhrta Retail Ltd and Ms Deja-Vu Solutions Limited."