ED attaches bookie Anil Jaisinghani’s Shirdi hotel
The Enforcement Directorate has attached a hotel in Shirdi allegedly owned by bookie Anil Jaisinghani as part of its 2015 money-laundering case probe.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached a hotel at Ahmednagar’s Shirdi, allegedly owned by bookie Anil Jaisinghani, as part of the agency’s probe in a 2015 money-laundering case.
The attachment is based on the ED’s findings that the hotel was acquired from the alleged proceeds of crime in the case, which amounted to ₹10 crore, an officer said. “The ED has provisionally attached Jaisinghani’s hotel in Shirdi whose value was around ₹3 crore when it was bought a few years ago. The actual value now may be higher.”
“He first bought the land and then took a loan on the basis of it. We are verifying if he used cash in most of his transactions,” the source said.
The agency had on May 9 carried out searches at properties linked to Jaisinghani at Ulhasnagar, Thane and Mumbai.
On March 19, 2015, the Ahmedabad unit of the ED had raided a Vadodara farmhouse on suspicions that it was the hub of “a large-scale hawala racket in contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act”. The agency suspected that the racket in international cricket was operated through a United Kingdom-based betting website and several bookies, including Jaisinghani and two others from Delhi, were involved in it.
A witness alleged that Jaisinghani “used to take the line for betting from one Surendra Mandi who operates the book in the name of ‘Mandi’, and that he was his Mumbai-based partner”, the ED officer said.
The probe has under its scanner the alleged receipt of more than ₹98.39 lakh in one of Jaisinghani’s bank accounts, the officer said. “During the course of the statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in April, the accused had been asked to provide details of his business activities, source of income, and his involvement in betting activities and his role in various other criminal cases.
“He was also asked about the source of a cash deposit of ₹98,39,172 in his bank account which was reflected in his income tax returns for the 2013-14 assessment year. But he evaded the replies and thus, owing to his non-cooperation, he was arrested.”
During investigation, another bookie alleged that Jaisinghani used to receive commission from different bookies, including him, for referring clients, the source said.
The agency had arrested 16 people, including two suspected bookies from Delhi. ED officials said Jaisinghani claimed that he had earned his livelihood by writing articles for print publications and denied any involvement in any illegal activity.