NCP leader Praful Patel has reached the Enforcement Directorate on October 18 in connection with its money laundering probe linked to alleged illegal assets of Iqbal Mirchi. Mirchi was an aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was summoned by the ED on October 15.
According to reports, Mirchi's wife Hazra Memon entered into a property deal with the Patel family. Mirchi, a drug lord, died in 2013.
Patel however, has rubbished reports of any property deal with Mirchi to be mere speculation by saying there wasn't even "single paisa worth property transaction". ED is expected to record Patel’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the ED launched an investigation into the case after Patel's signatures were found on the documents, which were also signed by the wife of gangster Iqbal Mirchi. Goyal further said, “The people of Maharashtra have been hearing the corruption tales of the NCP leaders for decades. The state has suffered due to several scams committed by them.”
The ED has managed to acquire documents, the property deals with signatures of both Mirchi's wife Hazra Memon and NCP leader Patel.
Iqbal Mirchi was an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
According to reports, ED has also has tracked details of transactions of at least a dozen shell companies and benami bank accounts in Chennai. These were allegedly used as cover to launder to the UK the sale proceeds of properties collectively estimated to be around Rs 500 crores.
Patel currently is being accused of promoting Ceejay House in Worli built by Millenium Developers Pvt Ltd in collaboration with Iqbal Mirchi. Patel also gave the third and fourth floor of Ceejay House to Mirchi's family as part of the deal. Millennium Developers is owned by Patel.
“My family owns Millennium. No one else is a partner," Patel has said.
