PANJIM: Tightening the noose around those involved in the infamous cricket scam, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth over Rs 4 crore belonging to former office bearers of the Goa Cricket Association (GCA), including its past president Dayanand Narvekar.
The attached properties, worth Rs 4.13 crore, to Narvekar, former GCA president Chetan Desai, former secretary Vinod Phadke and former treasurer Akbar Mulla. All four are accused of laundering funds that GCA had received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India during 2006-07 towards grants and TV rights.
ED had initiated an investigation under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act after an FIR by the Economic Offences Wing of the Goa Police was registered against them in December 2016.
The agency attached an apartment at Caranzalem belonging to Narvekar, three shops at Vasco belonging to Desai, a plot at Reis Magos belonging to Phadke and two plots, at Shiroda and a fixed deposit of Rs 67,500 with Central Bank of India, Ponda Branch belonging to Mulla.
An ED official said that in 2006-07, BCCI had forwarded grants/TV subsidy amounting to Rs 6.95 crore to GCA out of which Rs 3.87 crore was allegedly siphoned off by the four former GCA office bearers.
“The modus operandi adopted by the accused was to open fraudulent accounts in the name of GCA with certain banks based in Goa. Thereafter, a portion of the grants/TV subsidy received from BCCI would be deposited in the said accounts. Existence of these grants and the new bank accounts was neither disclosed in the monthly meeting/annual general body meeting nor mentioned in the balance sheet of GCA,” the official said.
The money deposited in these accounts would then be withdrawn in cash using bearer cheques in the name of fictitious persons. The office bearers used to telephonically inform the bank officials concerned that their person is coming to withdraw money and they should clear the cheque at the earliest.
The ED probe also revealed that Narvekar had siphoned off Rs 26 lakh from the Federal Bank account of GCA allegedly in cash to pay Hako Enterprises in Mumbai for the supply of sports equipment viz lawn mowers, bowling machines, cricket pitch cover and ground rollers.
However, Hako Enterprises confirmed it had not supplied any equipment of this amount nor any payment was made by the GCA. “Investigation has thus determined the proceeds of the crime at Rs 4.13 crore and as such, the attachment of properties was ordered,” ED official added.
