Chandigarh parking scam: Cops suspect money laundering, set to approach ED
Chandigarh police say contractor had also been diverting money collected to different accounts in his name and that of other firms, thus pointing at money laundering.
The UT Police is set to report the multi-crore parking scam to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after discovering shell companies and a possible money laundering angle.
As per the police, contractor Anil Kumar Sharma of Paschatya Entertainment Private Limited, who had allegedly furnished forged bank guarantees to bag the contract of 57 parking lots in Chandigarh, had been diverting the money collected to different accounts that were in his name and that of other firms.
“The earnings from all parkings should have been deposited in the firm’s account every day. This is so that the MC can evaluate the exact loss or profit to the contractor at the end of the year,” shared a senior police officer. “Anil used to direct his accountant Ajay Kumar to transfer the money to different accounts. Moreover, he used to pay his staff in cash,” the cop added.
17 shell companies found
Investigators further said Anil used to incorporate shell companies in the name of his employees and relatives with the intention of grabbing parking tenders by the municipal corporations in various places, including Chandigarh, Delhi, Bhopal and Noida. He also allegedly obtained a GST registration number on the basis of forged documents of such firms.
“He had around 17 shell companies in various parts of the country through which he had applied or got parking contracts from the respective municipal corporations,” said a cop.
Modus operandi
Anil’s modus operandi was to keep availing the parking tenders from all these MCs, including Chandigarh. “He continued paying to the authorities for initial two to three months and then entered into litigation seeking concession or waiving of licence fees. As soon as he sensed that he may be blacklisted by a particular MC, he would pay their arrears with the collections from MCs in other cities or states. For instance, he transferred money collected from parkings in Chandigarh to Delhi MC and also did the same in Bhopal and as he paid up the arrears, he never had any case registered against him. We are writing to the ED as a money-laundering angle had come to the fore,” an officer said. Police sources said a few fake guarantees came to the fore in Bhopal too but he paid the money there. Now, the Bhopal police is also investigating the matter there.
Meanwhile, superintendent of police (SP) Ketan Bansal said the accused Anil Kumar Sharma got a company, namely M/S Pashchatya Entertainment parking services (India), registered and ran it concurrently with the genuine company i.e. M/S Pashchatya Entertainment private limited. Vikas Pandey and Anshul Mishra were made the directors of the aforesaid shell company. Vikas, according to the sources, handled all the important business proceedings for Anil.
Summons to MC staff
Sources claimed that around eight MC staff members, including the members of the committee which allotted tender to Paschatya Entertainment Private Limited, were summoned for interrogation. “We have seized a few important files from the MC office and are regularly summoning the officers or staff concerned. Engineering wing gave the tender to the said firm,” an officer said.
Seven arrested
Police have so far arrested seven accused, including Anil Kumar Sharma, Sanjay Sharma, director of the parking firm, Ravi Chandra Prakash, the then bank officer of Canara Bank’s Mori Gate branch in Delhi, for issuing forged bank guarantees, and Anil’s accountant Ajay Kumar of Delhi who collected the whole amount of parking tenders allotted to MS Pashchatya Entertainment Pvt Ltd at Chandigarh, on the instructions of Anil, Karan Sharma who worked in Anil’s Delhi office in Gulabi Bagh, Sanjay Nagar, Delhi; Vikas Pandey and Anshul Mishra.
How the scam was unearthed
While working on recovering ₹6.5 crore unpaid licence fee from the Zone 2 contractor, whose contract had ended in January, MC officials had approached the bank concerned in New Delhi to recover the money through bank guarantees submitted by the contractor.
The bank, however, informed the MC that guarantees for ₹1.65 crore were forged, following which a cheating and criminal conspiracy case was registered at Sector 17 police station on February 18, 2023, following the complaint of the Chandigarh municipal corporation.
