The police team met senior officials including Mumbai commissioner Sanjeev Dayal, additional commissioner of police Deven Bharti, and Mumbai crime branch chief Himanshu Roy.
A two-member team of the Scotland Yard met senior officials of the Mumbai police on Tuesday after investigations into a multi-crore money laundering scam pointed to the involvement of a London-based non-resident Indian (NRI) solicitor. The scam also allegedly involves Nigerian governor James Ibrohi.
The police team met senior officials including Mumbai commissioner Sanjeev Dayal, additional commissioner of police Deven Bharti, and Mumbai crime branch chief Himanshu Roy. “We are giving the UK police complete cooperation,” said Bharti. “We are providing as many details as we can.”
The team is expected to be in the city for a week to verify information that has emerged during the investigations.
The London metropolitan magistrate court had issued a letter rogatory, which was forwarded to India through the Interpol, seeking information on NRI Badhresh Gohil.
According to senior Mumbai police officers, Gohil had invested in several real estate properties in Mumbai’s western suburbs using money acquired by fraudulent means. Most of the properties were registered either in his name or his relatives’. He had contacts with several people within Mumbai’s elite circles, including several Bollywood actors.
“We have information that he had given a couple of flats to several leading actors,” said a senior police official, on the condition of anonymity. “We are investigating the same.”
Investigations are also likely to unravel Gohil’s connections with builders, real estate agents and other players in the market. “We have asked for all details and are verifying their veracity,” added the official. “We also have to investigate if the fraudulent money was parked in other sectors as well.”
The scam, unearthed in 2007, also allegedly involves Nigerian governor James Ibrohi who was arrested in Dubai in May this year. He and his associates were accused of conspiring to defraud the Delta State government of nearly Rs1,500 crore. Ibrohi was arrested in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates by the Interpol after evading arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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