ED seizes beach resort, land of Uddav aide Parab in money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has "taken possession" of a beach resort and its land in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri worth Rs 10.2 crore as part of a money-laundering probe against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader and former state minister Anil Parab and others in a case linked to alleged irregularities with regard to coastal regulation laws.

"The action has been initiated after the Honourable Adjudicating Authority for PMLA confirmed the provisional attachment of (these) properties vide order dated June 1, 2023," the federal agency said in a statement.

The ED had attached Sai Resort NX, constructed over the land located at Gut no: 446, Murud in Ratnagiri's Dapoli, in January.

Parab (58) is a Shiv Sena leader from the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction of the party. He had earlier denied his association with the resort.

Parab is a three-time Shiv Sena legislator in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, the Upper House of the legislature, and has held the transport and parliamentary affairs portfolios in the state.

The money-laundering case stems from a complaint filed by the Union environment and forest ministry against Anil Dattatray Parab Sai Resort, Sea Conch Resort and some others for alleged violations of the Environment (Protection) Act, apart from a linked state police FIR against the former minister and others for "deceiving and causing loss to the government of Maharashtra".

"Anil Parab and his close associate Sadanand Kadam hatched a conspiracy and obtained illegal permission from revenue department authorities of Maharashtra through forgery and misdeclaration for construction of a twin bungalow (ground+1 floor) over a piece of agricultural land falling under a no-development zone and subsequently, constructed an illegal resort named Sai Resort NX having ground+2 floors in blatant disregard of the CRZ-III rules and regulations," the ED said.

The permission for the construction of the bungalow was obtained in the name of its earlier owner without his knowledge and even the revenue department authorities, knowing well that any construction is prohibited over the said piece of agricultural land, granted permission because of "undue pressure and influence", it added.

Thereafter, the gram panchayat was "deceived, misled, cheated and pressured" to transfer the said land, along with the building, in the name of Parab to legitimise the illegal construction of Sai Resort NX, the agency claimed.

It said Parab, with the intent of utilising his "unaccounted" money and concealing his identity as the real owner, spent money for the construction "in cash" before the registration of the land in his name so that in future, if any violation comes to light, the onus could be shifted to the previous owner.

The ED said when various complaints regarding the illegal construction of Sai Resort NX came under media scrutiny, a "benami" transaction was executed where Parab sold the land on paper to Kadam to conceal the illegalities and irregularities regarding the construction of the said resort within the CRZ-III -- the no-development zone.

The land of the resort is valued at Rs 2,73,91,000 and the resort (Sai Resort NX) constructed over the said land is valued at Rs 7,46,47,000, the agency said.

The ED arrested Kadam, a "close associate" of Parab and Jayram Deshpande, the then sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Dapoli, and also filed a chargesheet in the case before a special court dealing with cases lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in May.