The complainant roped in BJP MP Kirit Somaiya to intensify the baseless allegations against his political rival, causing immense collateral damage to Avighna Group's repute.
In November, 2016, media was abuzz with the news that the Enforcement Directorate was investigating into allegations of money laundering involving a former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the involvement of a leading city developer. Today, all that remains of the 'case' is the trail of damage that the smear campaign by motivated elements caused to the developer's reputation, and two years on, the developer is awaiting a formal closure of the 'preliminary inquiry' by the ED officials.
At the core of this witch hunt was a complaint filed with ED by vested interests, who alleged that the former chief minister had ploughed his funds through offshore routes into a luxury housing project of Avighna Group in Parel. Taking advantage of political capital then, the complainant roped in BJP MP Kirit Somaiya to intensify the baseless allegations against his political rival, causing immense collateral damage to Avighna Group's repute.
When contacted about his role in voicing the allegations then, Somaiya maintained that he was just amplifying a case that was brought to his notice. "My job as a people's representative is only to bring an issue to the notice of the investigating officials and the judiciary. After that, I have not followed up in the case, " clarified Somaiya.
On their part, the ED officials maintain that only a 'preliminary enquiry' was conducted to ascertain the facts related to the case and there has been no material development in the complaint since. "The question of proceedings arises only when a FIR is filed and a formal case is registered," said Vineet Agarwal, Special Director – ED.
Meanwhile, the developers are constantly following up with ED to secure closure of the case. Keen to get their name cleared, Avighna Group approached the ED officials immediately after the allegations surfaced in 2016 and showed them all the relevant papers, conclusively proving that there is not an iota of truth in the reported claims.
"The ED has accepted our submissions, ceased further investigations in the case and we are waiting for a formal letter of closure of the case," said Kailash Agarwal, Chairman of Avighna Group, adding that the misinformed campaign about the ED investigating funds in Avighna Group are absolutely baseless. Far from the former CM, no politician has ever invested a single rupee in Avighna Group at any point and our books clearly reflect this," said the NRI businessman.
Avighna Group has been at the receiving end of motivated campaigns by blackmailers for years and the allegations involving ED is just one of the battles for the upright developers. "The same elements have been misusing the legal machinery for years to harass us, with the objective of extracting funds. As developers of Mumbai's biggest and most successful cluster redevelopment project, we have always followed the law of the land and pursued each of the issues legally to get them shot down by the appropriate forum," said Agarwal.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Avighna Group")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}