Tanvi Sinha
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested businessman and actor Sachin Joshi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) over the Omkar Realtors and Developers realty group money laundering case.
Joshi acts as a promoter and actor of the JMJ business group and his links and role with the group were under apprehension and were being investigated.
He is expected to have a hearing in front of a local court against the Enforcement Directorate who will be seeking his remand for custodial interrogation.
Joshi is affiliated with the JMJ business group that is concerned with production of edible perfumes for pan masala and brewery and distilleries. He also owns Playboy franchise with a chain of restaurants and clubs across cities.
Last month the chairman of Omkar Realtors and Developers, Kamal Kishore Gupta and MD Babulal Varma were arrested by the ED after raids were carried out against the group and them.
The case against them lodged under various sections of the PMLA was referring to a situation of alleged irregularities in the execution of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme that aimed at developing a housing society in Mumbai.
The company is also consecutively facing allegations regarding diverting their loan from Yes Bank of 400 crore INR.
The case was filed under sections concerning cheating, criminal breach of trust of the Indian Penal Code.
The matter started when according to the ED, the realtors acquired a company that was dealing with redevelopment of Anand Nagar SRA cooperative Housing Society in Mumbai, as they had SRA rights of the place.
However, Omkar realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd did not pay back the amount that was due to the seller and alongside mortgaged future floor space index taking huge amounts of loan.
The loan taken was then not even applied to the work it was proposed for, with the directors not undertaking any work of the SRA building and forging documents with names of the slum dwellers.
The company has maintained its position as being emphatic that the Omkar group is not in violation of any of the lending norms and slum approvals.