Vasai-Virar illegal construction case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 44 crore of ex-VVMC chief Anil Pawar

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 71 crore linked to the illegal construction of buildings in Vasai-Virar, of which Rs 44 crore belonged to Anil Pawar (IAS), the former chief of Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation.

The ED had previously chargesheeted Pawar, deputy director of town planning Y S Reddy, and 16 others in a money laundering case connected to the construction of unauthorised buildings. During the investigation, the ED attached properties belonging to the accused and the builders who had constructed 41 illegal buildings in Vasai-Virar, which were ordered for demolition by the High Court. In August, the ED arrested Pawar and Reddy in the case, along with two others; they remain in judicial custody.

The ED recorded statements from several builders and architects who admitted paying bribes to Pawar, Reddy, and other VVCM officials in exchange for clearance of their building construction files. Earlier, the ED seized Rs 8.6 crore in unaccounted cash and Rs 23.2 crore worth of jewellery from Reddy’s residence prior to the arrests. Additionally, around Rs 1.3 crore in unaccounted cash belonging to Pawar was found at a relative’s premises, along with several property documents.

The agency also gathered evidence that a relative of Pawar in Dadar had received a bribe of Rs 3.4 crore in cash, reportedly transported via an angadia. The money laundering case is based on multiple FIRs linked to the unauthorised construction of 41 residential and commercial buildings on government and private land under the Vasai-Virar civic body. The buildings were demolished following a recent court order.