The Enforcement Directorate on February 14 arrested businessman and Bollywood actor Sachin Joshi in the alleged money laundering case involving Mumbai-based Omkar Realty group.
He will be produced before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering) court in Mumbai on February 15.
The agency tasked with investigating economic offences found some transactions linking Joshi’s JMJ Group to the Omkar Realty, sources said, without sharing the details.
Joshi’s questioning came on the day the income tax department concluded searches of Joshi’s home and JMJ Group’s offices that continued for five days. The JMJ Group is in hospitality, construction, breweries and pan masala business.
The Enforcement Directorate had on January 27 arrested Omkar Group Chairman Kamal Gupta and Managing Director Babu Lal Verma under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). ED alleges that Omkar Realty took a loan of Rs 410 crore for slum rehabilitation projects from Yes Bank but diverted the money.
One of the biggest real estate players in Mumbai, the Omkar group leads the city in slum rehabilitation projects, with premium offerings in the city’s suburbs.
Joshi, who is the son of gutka baron JM Joshi, made news when he bought fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Villa in Goa.
He also owns the Dambulla Viiking franchise that plays in the Sri Lankan Twenty20 premier league and also has the exclusive licence for Playboy Enterprises in India.