Special PMLA Court Issues Process Against Ashok Kharat And Five Others In ₹17.70-Crore Money Laundering Case
A special PMLA court in Mumbai has issued process against Ashok Kharat, his wife Kalpana Kharat, and four others — Arvind Bawake, Namkaran Aware, Avinash Kandekar and Milind Bankar — in connection with money laundering allegations totalling ₹17.70 crore. The court noted that the repetition of similar modus operandi across multiple FIRs indicates systematic and continuous generation of proceeds of crime.
According to the ED's prosecution complaint, Kharat allegedly projected himself as the incarnation of 'Krishna' with religious and spiritual authority to extort money from people. The agency claimed that as manager of a cooperative society, he opened 48 special savings accounts and 34 benami accounts using fraudulent KYC documents of followers. Other accused persons facilitated fraudulent property transactions.
The court observed a consistent and systematic pattern of conduct by Kharat facilitated by the other accused. Assets including bank accounts, fixed deposits and high-end vehicles worth ₹17.70 crore were traced to the accused.
