The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 64 crore belonging to Kamla Landmarc group companies, owned by builder Jitendra Jain and partner Parvath Shetty, in connection with a money laundering case.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the ED stated that Jitendra Jain, in a criminal conspiracy with Parvath Shetty, transferred ownership of Kamla Landmarc Builders (one of the Kamla Landmarc group companies) to Parvath Shetty through forgery. Subsequently, Parvath Shetty transferred ownership of the assets created in Kamla Landmarc Builders to his relatives in order to conceal the original ownership.
The attached assets include various flats worth Rs 33 crore in the city, agriculture lands worth Rs 16 crore belonging to Jitendra Jain, and flats worth Rs 15 crore belonging to Shetty.
The ED has initiated an investigation against Kamla Landmarc based on 37 FIRs registered against the firm by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police and different police stations. The FIRs allege that the firm cheated flat buyers-investors and banks of Rs 408 crore.
During the investigation, the ED found that Jain and others, through Kamla Landmarc group companies, obtained loans from banks and financial institutions. Out of these loans, Rs 111 crore turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). The accused also received Rs 297 crore in advances from various individuals and entities in exchange for properties such as flats or units in his projects. However, they failed to deliver the promised flats to these individuals.
The ED claimed that Jain diverted the money into accounts of sister concerns of his group companies, the firms’ promoters, directors, and key managerial persons. The accused laundered the money by transferring ownership of the assets purchased with the laundered funds to project them as untainted.
In one case previously, Jain was accused of illegally constructing four additional floors in a building in Santacruz, despite having permission for only a 7-storey building. In another, he fabricated documents while constructing a 17-storey tower, which led to a police case. The building construction file reportedly went missing from the BMC records.
