Updated 29 May 2020 at 20:00 IST
AgustaWestland chopper scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs.385 cr of accused Rajiv Saxena
The ED attached assets worth Rs.385 crore belonging to Rajiv Saxena, who is an accused in the Agusta Westland Chopper scam and Moser Baer bank fraud case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, May 29, issued an order for attaching moveable and immoveable assets worth Rs.385.44 crore belonging to Rajiv Saxena, who is an accused in the Agusta Westland Chopper scam and Moser Baer bank fraud case. The attached assets include a villa in Palm Jumeirah, Dubai worth 20 million UAE Dirham, and balances in five Swiss bank accounts amounting to 45.55 million US Dollars. In a press release, the ED stated that this action was taken after establishing that Saxena had committed the offence of money laundering punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. On January 31, 2019, Saxena was deported to India from the UAE.
The ED's charges against Saxena
Initially, the CBI had registered an FIR against former Air Chief SP Tyagi and others under Section 120B read with Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. It had filed a separate FIR in the bank fraud case against Moser Baer India Ltd. and its directors, unknown public servants and unknown private persons. Based on these two FIRs, the ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA. The ED has alleged that Saxena is a Hawala operator and accommodation entry operator who runs the accommodation entry business in Dubai through the Matrix Group companies. According to the agency, he created structures for laundering the proceeds of crime generated by the accused in both cases for the kickbacks in the Agusta Westland case and defrauding banks by misutilising the loans given to Moser Baer India Ltd and its subsidiaries.
Moreover, the ED claimed that Saxena had admitted to laundering the proceeds of crime in other defence deals as well. It added that the proceeds of crime had been transferred to the bank accounts of Rajiv Saxena and his wife Shivani Saxena. Regarding the Moser Baer case, it observed that the proceeds of crime belonging to Deepak Puri and Ratul Puri had been parked in the hands of Rajiv Saxena.
Published By : Digital Desk
Published On: 29 May 2020 at 20:00 IST