Resort 'at centre of ED probe' does not belong to him, claims Maharashtra minister Anil Parab

Anil Parab. File Pic

Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab, whose properties were raided by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday, claimed that the Dapoli resort which was at the centre of the central agency's probe did not belong to him. He responded to all the queries of ED officials and would continue to do so in the future, said the Shiv Sena leader who is considered close to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Talking to reporters after ED officials left his official residence around 7.30 pm, Parab said the agency raided his official and private residences and also the premises of some people linked to him. "There was a buzz that there will be ED action. The raids were about the Sai resort at Dapoli (in coastal Ratnagiri district), which I have been saying is owned by Sadanand Kadam. He has furnished all the details in the court and even to the Income Tax department," the minister said.

This sea-facing resort was not yet functional, yet the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest registered a case at Dapoli police station against the owner, alleging that sewage water from the property was being released into the sea, he said. "The ED considered it as a predicated offence, and raids were conducted on me," Parab added. The ED's action was part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged violation of coastal regulation zone norms in the construction of the Dapoli resort, officials said earlier in the day.

The probe agency has filed a fresh case against the minister and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Parab's role was already being probed by the ED in another money laundering case registered against former Maharashtra home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh. At least seven premises, including Parab's official residence 'Ajinkyatara' in Mumbai's Bandra area, linked premises in Dapoli and Pune and those of people allegedly linked to him like Sadanand Kadam were searched by the agency.

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