ED attaches Rs 50 cr worth assets of sugar mill owned by Sharad Pawar's grandnephew Rohit

The action pertains to the money laundering investigation conducted by the federal agency in the alleged Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam.

Mumbai: In what comes as a setback to Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew Rohit Pawar, the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets valued at Rs. 50.20 crore of M/s Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd (KSSK) in a money laundering case involving illegal sale of sugar mills by Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank Ltd (MSCB).

The ED action comes on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 

Rohit Pawar (38), the NCP (SCP) MLA from Karjat Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district, is the nephew of NCP (SCP) Working President Supriya Sule and NCP President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

The Kannad SSK Ltd was acquired by Baramati Agro Pvt Ltd in an auction conducted by MSCB Ltd.

Rohit Pawar is the CEO of Baramati Agro Ltd - and the ED has grilled him twice in the agency’s Ballard Pier office  in connection with the alleged scam.

The assets attached were of 101.30 acres of land, plant and machinery and building of the sugar unit in Kannad in the Chhatrapati SambhajiNagar district, earlier known as Aurangabad. 

The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED stepped into the investigations for the money laundering part following an offence registered by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police. 

According to the ED, the  investigation revealed that to recover the outstanding loan of Rs. 80.56 crore of  Kannad SSK Limited, MSCB took possession of all the assets of said SSK on 13.07.2009 under SARFAESI Act. 

“On 30 August, 2012, MSCB conducted an auction of Kannad SSK Ltd by fixing a very low reserve price based on a questionable valuation report. Apart from Baramati Agro Ltd, two other parties entered into the bidding process. The bidder with the highest bid was technically disqualified on flimsy ground, whereas the other bidder was already a close business associate of Baramati Agro Ltd. with no financial capacity or experience of running a sugar unit,” the ED said. 

“Based on the investigation conducted and evidence collected under PMLA so far, it has been established that the acquisition of Kannad SSK by  Baramati Agro Ltd was illegal and assets so acquired are proceeds of crime under the section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002. Accordingly Provisional Attachment Order under PMLA was issued attaching all the assets of Kannad SSK acquired for Rs.50.20 crore,” the agency said.