Yes Bank-DHFL Case: Relief for Avinash Bhosale as Bombay HC quashes ED takeover of 2 land parcels of Rs 30 crore

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted relief to Pune-based developer Avinash Bhosale, setting aside the attachment of two land parcels in Pune and Nagpur by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Yes Bank-DHFL money laundering case.

The properties, valued at Rs 14.65 crore and Rs 15.52 crore, respectively, had been attached by the ED in 2022 as part of its probe into alleged proceeds of crime received by Bhosale and entities linked to his ABIL group.

Bhosale had approached the High Court challenging an April 1 order of the Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which had partly set aside the ED’s provisional attachments but refused to interfere with the attachment of the two properties.

Appearing for Bhosale, senior advocate Aabad Ponda argued against the continued attachment. The High Court found “no basis” for continuing the attachment of the properties.

The properties included a 6,143-square-metre land parcel in Pune, held under the name Samit Realty and valued at Rs 14.65 crore, and a 20,200-square-foot land parcel in Nagpur, valued at Rs 15.52 crore and held in the name of his wife, Gauri Bhosale.

In August 2022, the ED had attached assets linked to Bhosale and his ABIL group, including a duplex flat in Mumbai worth Rs 102.8 crore, two land parcels in Pune valued at Rs 14.65 crore and Rs 29.24 crore, respectively, and two land parcels in Nagpur valued at Rs 15.52 crore and Rs 1.45 crore, respectively.

According to the central agency, Bhosale and his entities, including Nibodh Realty LLP and ABIL Dairy, had received alleged proceeds of crime totalling Rs 164.64 crore.

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“We are unable to comprehend, nor has the Special Counsel for the ED been able to explain, how official bank transaction(s) between a bank and a corporate entity, carried out in the usual course of business, could be construed as proceeds of crime and thereby constitute the offence of money laundering,” the bench observed.

Holding that the ED’s conclusion was “entirely baseless”, the HC said amounts paid by DHFL to Bhosale under consultancy agreements before the loan was disbursed on April 12, 2018, could not be linked to proceeds of crime.

With regard to ABIL, the court observed that each transaction was “independent”, involving an “independent corporate entity”, and that none of the transactions was illegal. It found no nexus between them.