Sunetra Pawar Faces Ongoing Scrutiny in Rs 25,000 Crore Bank Scam Despite Clean Chit

Mumbai: Maharashtra's first woman deputy CM, Sunetra Pawar, continues to face legal scrutiny in the Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had mentioned her and her husband, Ajit Pawar, in its charge sheet. Although the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police granted the couple a clean chit, the ED objected to the closure of the case in its money laundering investigation. The matter is currently pending in court.

Sunetra and Ajit Pawar were also investigated under the Benami Properties law by the Income Tax Department. The agency had attached properties worth Rs 1,000 crore but later provided relief to the couple. The adjudication authority and the appellate tribunal ruled that the couple could not be treated as beneficial owners due to the lack of proof that they paid the consideration for the properties.

The MSCB case has been one of the most politically sensitive in the state, involving multiple politicians from both the governing and opposition sides. The scam pertains to 31 district central co-operative banks under the MSCB umbrella, which granted loans to cooperative sugar factories in violation of rules. This led to a Rs 25,000 crore loss to the MSCB, as these sugar mills defaulted on payments between 2002 and 2017. The MSCB later auctioned the sugar factories and their lands at throwaway prices, often to relatives of those heading the bank, under the guise of recovering loans.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court, which directed the registration of an FIR to initiate an investigation in 2019. Based on this, the ED registered a money laundering case. Later, Ajit Pawar, then the leader of the opposition, along with his NCP group, joined the Mahayuti government of the BJP and Shinde Sena.

Sunetra Pawar's name came under ED scrutiny in connection with the purchase of the Jarandeshwar Sugar Co-operative Mill while Ajit was associated with MSCB. The ED stated that the mill was sold by MSCB in a 2010 auction to Guru Commodity Pvt Ltd, a company associated with a Mumbai-based builder, for Rs 65.7 crore. Immediately, Guru Commodity gave the mill to a newly-incorporated private company, Jarandeshwar Sugar, on lease for an annual charge of Rs 12 lakh.

The ED noted that the director of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Ltd, Rajendra Ghadge, is the maternal uncle of Ajit Pawar, who was then a director of the bank. The funds used to purchase the mill in the auction were mainly sourced from Jarandeshwar Sugar, which, in turn, received Rs 20 crore from Jay Agrotech Pvt Ltd, a company in which Sunetra Pawar was a director.

Activist Anjali Damania, who has challenged the Income Tax Department's findings, stated, 'Last year, I wrote to the I-T department for the reopening of the case against the Pawars. The Supreme Court had recalled its order in the Ganpati Dealcom case, which stated that the Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 could be applied retrospectively. This was the basis on which the Pawars received relief. I requested the I-T authorities to reattach the properties of the Pawars and Bhujbals, which were earlier released based on the same order, now that it has been recalled by the Supreme Court.'