The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai, has attached immovable assets valued at Rs. 71 crore belonging to senior IAS officer and former Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) Commissioner Anil Pawar, along with Sitaram Gupta and several others.
The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED action stems from multiple FIRs registered by the Mira-Bhayandar Police Commissionerate against a nexus of builders, municipal officials, and intermediaries accused of orchestrating large-scale illegal construction of residential-cum-commercial complexes on both government and private lands within the jurisdiction of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) since 2009.
According to the agency, investigations revealed that an organized network of corrupt officials, including the then Municipal Commissioner, Deputy Director (Town Planning), Junior Engineers, Architects, Chartered Accountants, and liaison agents, were working in concert across various departments of the corporation. This cartel allegedly enabled and profited from rampant unauthorised construction activity across the Vasai-Virar region.
The ED found that 41 such illegal structures were identified and subsequently demolished following court orders.
During the probe, the agency discovered that Anil Pawar had amassed illegal gratification amounting to approximately ₹169 crore through systematic bribery and abuse of his official position. The proceeds of crime were allegedly laundered through a web of entities and shell companies floated in the names of his family members, relatives, and benamidars.
The laundered funds were reportedly used to acquire high-value assets, including gold, diamond, and pearl jewellery, luxury sarees, farmhouses, warehouses, and investments in real estate projects—some of which were floated in the name of his wife.
Earlier raids conducted by the ED had led to the seizure of ₹8.94 crore in cash, diamond-studded jewellery and bullion worth ₹23.25 crore, and the freezing of bank balances, shares, mutual funds, and fixed deposits amounting to ₹13.86 crore.
The agency stated that the latest attachment of ₹71 crore worth of properties is part of its ongoing efforts to trace and confiscate assets derived from the proceeds of crime in the multi-crore Vasai-Virar illegal construction racket.
Further investigation into the money trail and the involvement of other public officials and private entities is currently underway.
