LI Network
Published on: January 22, 2024 at 10:41 IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Sunday that the adjudicating authority for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has approved the seizure order involving two properties valued at over Rs 7 crore.
These properties, belonging to the relatives and friends of a former special PMLA Judge stationed in Haryana’s Panchkula, can now face confiscation. The judge is under arrest in connection with a money laundering case.
Last August, the central agency provisionally attached the properties under the PMLA. The adjudicating authority confirmed the attachment order on January 18, as per a statement by the ED.
The attached properties, totaling Rs 7.59 crore, were identified as proceeds of crime linked to Sudhir Parmar and others. These assets include two immovable properties registered under the names of relatives and friends of the accused ex-PMLA judge.
According to the PMLA, once the ED’s provisional attachment order is confirmed, the agency can proceed with confiscation. Parmar, a former special judge handling ED and CBI cases in Panchkula, was arrested by the ED in August in connection with a money laundering case tied to bribery charges against him.
The ED filed chargesheets in August and October 2023, alleging that the judge received illegal gratification amounting to Rs 5-7 crore from the owners of IREO Group and M3M Group for providing favors to them.
The case originated from an FIR filed by Haryana Police’s Anti-Corruption Bureau in April 2023 against Sudhir Parmar, his nephew Ajay Parmar, and Roop Kumar Bansal, a promoter of the M3M group. The ED had previously arrested Ajay Parmar, Basant Bansal, Pankaj Bansal, and Lalit Goyal in connection with this case.
The ACB FIR stated that Sudhir Parmar exhibited “favouritism” toward the accused in cases pending in his court. Parmar was suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the ACB case was registered.