The agency alleges that between July 2020 to February 2022, irregularities in functioning of two Covid centres in Dahisar and Worli, operated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had led to wrongful gain and proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 32.44 crore.
Businessman Sujit Patkar played a "key role" in the allotment of a civic contract to his partnership firm for running jumbo COVID-19 centres in Mumbai, the Enforcement Directorate said in its chargesheet.
Patkar allegedly orchestrated and effected a fraud amounting to Rs 31.84 crore by obtaining a tender for Lifeline Management Services, in which he was a partner. Patkar was remanded to EOW’s custody for five days.
The ED had lodged a money laundering case against Patkar and others based on Mumbai Police’s probe and arrested him last week. Patkar is one of the four partners of Lifeline Hospital Management Services that was awarded the contract to run a Covid-19 jumbo centre in Worli.
Yuva Sena secretary Suraj Chavan, who is close to Aaditya Thackerey, is suspected to be one of the four middlemen the ED has identified. Chavan's name as a middleman cropped up in four to five contracts directly