Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Pune zilla parishad chairman Mangaldas Bandal in a money laundering case on Wednesday. The agency seized Rs 5.6 crore in cash, five luxury cars and wristwatches worth more than Rs 1 crore during raids on Bandal’s residences and offices.
Officials raided Bandal’s home early Tuesday in Shikrapur, Burunjwadi and Mohammed Wadi areas. He was brought to Mumbai and produced before the special MP and MLA court for remand on Wednesday. Mangaldas Bandal Under The Lenses Of The Income Tax Department Bandal was already under scrutiny by the Income Tax Department for financial irregularities and tax evasion.
His wife Rekha Bandal, along with his two brothers and their families, were also interrogated by officials at their Shikrapur residence. Bandal was earlier booked by the Pune Police under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly threatening a prominent jeweller. He was accused in the Shivajirao Bhosale Bank scam and financial irregularities of Pune Zilla Parishad Construction Committee.
In May 2021 he was arrested in connection with the Rs 392.92 crore cooperative bank fraud and spent 20 months in jail before being granted bail ahead of the Lok Sabha election. On Wednesday the special MP and MLA court remanded Bandal to ED custody till August 29, in connection with the bank scam.
He is accused of having laundered funds to the tune of Rs 41.57 crores. Seeking his custody, ED prosecutor RR Yadav all.