ED seizes posh Mumbai assets worth over Rs 32 crore in FEMA probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has seized two prime properties, worth over Rs 32 crore, in connection with a foreign exchange violation case against a Mumbai-based woman for allegedly holding undisclosed assets abroad.

An order under section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was issued against Jaya Patel, the daughter of late Parmanand Tulsidas Patel, the federal probe agency said.

Two immovable assets located on Peddar Road in Mumbai, bearing a value of Rs 32.38 crore, have been seized as "equivalent value of property in India for illegally acquiring properties abroad", it said.

The FEMA probe revealed that Jaya Patel of Mumbai had "illegally amassed" properties in foreign countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom, the agency said.

"Searches were conducted at the residential and office premises of Jaya Patel and her associate which resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents about the illegal acquisition of undisclosed foreign assets," the ED said in a statement.

Jaya Patel, it said, is associated with a British Virgin Islands-based firm, Ivory International Properties Ltd.

"She is the beneficial owner of a flat at Chelsea Embankment, London, valued at GBP 15,25,000 and another in Central Park, New York, valued at USD 25,60,000," the ED said.

"Both assets were acquired through Ivory International Properties Ltd and probe found that the firm mortgaged the said real estate properties to obtain loan and Jaya Patel had signed as co-borrower in mortgage loan application form," the agency alleged.

Patel failed to explain the source of the funds for acquisition of these properties and the funds "to acquire these overseas properties have been illegally transferred by violating sections of FEMA," it said.

Investigation related to the illegal transfer of money outside India to acquire the properties is in progress, the ED added.