The Enforcement Department (ED) arrested Vinay Vivek Aranha, the City Educationalist and Partner of Rosary Education on March 10th 2023 under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
He was produced before Addl. Session Judge, City Civil & Sessions Court, Mumbai and the Court has granted his custody to ED till 20.03.2023.
Vinay Aranha and Vivek Anthony Aranha were the subjects of an investigation by the ED based on a FIR filed by the Pune Police in response to a complaint made by Shivaji Vithal Kale of Cosmos Bank, who claimed that the accused had obtained a loan of Rs 20.44 Crore from Cosmos Bank by submitting fictitious property documents.
According to the allegations, the accused Vinay Vivek Aranha obtained multiple loans totaling Rs 46 crore from Cosmos Cooperative Bank, Pune, by providing false property mortgage documents to the bank. He then purportedly diverted the loans from their intended uses and used them to fund his extravagant lifestyle, resulting in a loss of Rs 45 crore to Cosmos Bank.
According to an investigation by the ED, Vinay Aranha was the main figure in the Rosary Education Society and had obtained a total of 7 loans totaling Rs. 46 Crore for the ostensible reason of renovating and developing schools. Instead of using these loans, he transferred Rs 21 crore to M/s Paramount Infrastructure, Shabbir Patanwala, Ashwin Kamat, and M/s Deepti Enterprises in collusion with his friends and accomplices.
Vinay Aranha withdrew almost Rs. 17.66 crore in cash from the overall loan amount, which he then used to pay for unauthorised expenses. In order to further his own egotistical goals, he lavishly paid celebrities to conduct gala events under the auspices of the Vinay Aranha Foundation and also bought expensive cars, reported the ED.
The accused was evasive and recalcitrant during the ED inquiry and repeatedly ignored summonses from the ED. The summonses were sent, however they were returned undeliverable with the note “Refused” on the envelope. He was discovered to be providing false medical certifications to ED in order to avoid appearing before ED. The investigation is still going on as per the reports.
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