Malegaon Bank Fraud Case: IT Department investigates benami transactions and money laundering, tracing fraudulent bank accounts and illicit activities | ANI
Mumbai: Following the involvement of the Malegaon police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Income Tax (IT) Department has also begun probing the Malegaon bank fraud and money laundering case. The IT Department is investigating Siraj Mohammad, a Malegaon-based trader who allegedly misused multiple bank accounts to conduct transactions exceeding Rs 100 crore.
Documents accessed by The Free Press Journal reveal that the IT Department has issued a show-cause notice under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 (PBPT Act), to the proprietor of a company linked to these transactions. The case involves “benami transactions,” where the purported owners deny any knowledge of or connection to the assets in question. Consequently, bank accounts and fixed deposits tied to these operations have been classified as benami property.
The IT Department’s investigation has uncovered startling details in the ongoing probe into the Malegaon bank fraud and money laundering case. Evidence and bank account statements analysed during the inquiry have implicated Siraj in the fraudulent opening and operation of 14 bank accounts using the identities of unsuspecting people.
The audit of these accounts uncovered that they were opened between September and October 2024, with high-value transactions carried out by Siraj. The investigation revealed total credits in these accounts amounting to Rs 112.7 crore, while withdrawals amounted to approximately Rs 111.7 crore. Furthermore, it was found that these accounts were allegedly operated without the knowledge or consent of the people whose names were used.
In addition to the accounts in NAMCO Bank, the inquiry uncovered that similar fraudulent accounts were opened in the Bank of Maharashtra, Malegaon branch, under the names of some of the same individuals. These accounts, too, had high-value transactions,
During its investigation, the Benami unit of the IT Department recorded statements from the account holders, who claimed they were unaware of the accounts opened in their names. They further stated that the signatures on the account opening forms did not belong to them and that they had never visited the bank where these accounts were opened.
The case gained attraction when victims approached the police and an investigation revealed that Siraj allegedly got Rs 125 crore transferred through 2,500 transactions from 175 bank branches spread in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha and West Bengal in 21 accounts. The said fund was received through benami persons. This money was withdrawn immediately and transferred to various places of Maharashtra through hawala transactions.
The benami department of Income Tax has issued a show cause notice against arrested accused Partik Jadhav, proprietor of Choice Marketing, one of the accounts allegedly operated by Siraj. The department has attached the current account and fixed deposit of Jadhav asking him why shouldn’t these movable assets not be treated as ‘benami properties’ under the Act with Jadhav being the ‘benamidar’. It has also identified Siraj as the ‘interested party’.
Under the PBPTA, a show cause notice is served to the company or a person who is holding the assets to explain the source of funds and other IT-related documents The time-bound probe finds the real owner, the benamidars (who is holding the assets) and the benami assets. During the probe, the department also summons the suspected beneficial owner before passing the final prohibition order. The order passed by the initiating office can be challenged before the Appellate Tribunal under the SAFEMA Act, which is the adjudicating authority for cases under the PBPTA.
Jadhav, however, has distanced himself from the accounts. In his statement to the department, Jadhav allegedly told IT that the account was opened by Siraj and that he kept the mobile number linked to the account to carry out the transactions. Jadhav has also revealed that while filing the account opening forms, they were told to use their initials as signatures so that Siraj could copy them whenever required in the future. He has also claimed that Siraj collected the chequebooks and the newly purchased sim cards were given as their mobile numbers for linking it with the bank accounts and that these mobiles were kept with Siraj.
Meanwhile, Siraj in his statement to IT had claimed that he too wasn’t aware of the ultimate beneficiary of the accounts and that the accounts were controlled by a person named Monu Bapu. Interestingly, the Malegaon police and ED also probing a case of bank fraud in the said matter have found Bapu to be an alias used by Siraj.
