Mumbai: Observing that the use of bank accounts, sham and bogus companies, the siphoning of funds, and the execution of illegal transactions — specifically the Rs 5.5 crore that was placed, routed, and layered — constituted the offence of money laundering, a special court recently rejected discharge pleas filed by former state revenue minister Eknath Khadse, his wife Mandakini Khadse, son-in-law Girish Chaudhary, and sub registrar Ravindra B Mulley.“The material on record prima facie reveals that accused no 2 (Mandakini Khadse) and 3 (Chaudhari) have acquired the property by means which are not legally approved, and the property acquired by criminal activity is relatable to scheduled offence. “Prima facie, a case of criminal misconduct, which is a scheduled offence is made out…it is clear that there is sufficient material to frame charges against all the accused for the offence under…the PMLA,” special judge Satyanarayan R Navander said. All the accused were ordered to appear on Dec 18, for the formal framing of charges under the PMLA.On Dec 4, the same court had rejected discharge pleas by the Khadses and Chaudhari in the predicate offence probed by the ACB. The predicate or scheduled offence is one based on which, the ED registers its money laundering case.The trio are accused in a case relating to the alleged misuse of official position to purchase land in Bhosari, Pune, which was already acquired by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).In the 24-page order made available in the PMLA case on Dec 10, the judge noted that Khadse’s actions were not within the scope of his official duties as revenue minister, thus, negating the need for prior sanction for prosecution.
