ED attaches Sena MLA's assets in NSEL PMLA case

New Delhi: The ED on Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 11.35 crore of Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in a money laundering case linked to the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL).

The federal probe agency issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attachment of two flats and a parcel of land in Thane, near Mumbai, "held by" Sarnaik.

Sarnaik, 57, represents the Ovala-Maijwada constituency in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and is also a spokesperson for his party.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the NSEL case after taking cognisance of a 2013 FIR of the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police against its directors, key officials and 25 defaulters.

The accused hatched a "criminal conspiracy" to defraud the investors, induced them to trade on the NSEL platform, created forged documents like bogus warehouse receipts and falsified accounts. The accused thereby committed a criminal breach of trust in respect of Rs 5,600 crore of approximately 13,000 investors, the ED said.

A probe found that "the money collected from various investors were diverted by borrowers/trading members of NSEL for other activities like investment into real estate, repayment of outstanding debts and

other activities."