The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday provisionally attached two immovable properties worth Rs 117.87 crores owned by Michael Floyd Eshwer under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a cheating case.
The two properties are in Karnataka and Kerala. The attachment also includes around 70 animal trophies and furniture made out of rosewood.
ED initiated an investigation on the basis of a charge sheet filed by the Criminal Investigation Department in Bengaluru before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mysuru City against Eshwer and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Based on the orders of the Supreme Court, the investigation was conducted by CID, Bengaluru which revealed that Eshwer, who is a horse trainer, had created a false adoption deed in his favor.
The horse trainer came to know about Edwin Joubert Veningen and the properties held by him which were gifted by the Maharaja of Mysore for his services. Eshwer later got Veningen's false death certificate and fraudulently got the properties transferred in his name, as per investigations.
In this manner, he fraudulently acquired two immovable properties from Veningen. The department also found out that Eshwer had projected the said properties as untainted properties and thus committed an offence of money laundering.
Further investigations in this case are underway.
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