ED attaches ₹385 crore assets of Agusta middleman Rajiv Saxena

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (May 29) said it had attached assets, including five Swiss bank accounts worth ₹385.44 crore, of Rajiv Saxena, a middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP choppers money laundering case.

It said the value of the properties attached was $50.90 million (₹385.44 crore) and a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued.

The attachment pertains to two PMLA cases being probed by the central agency—₹3,600 crore VVIP choppers case and the Moser Baer bank fraud case, in which the prominent accused are businessman Ratul Puri and his father Deepak Puri, the promoters of Moser Baer.

Ratul Puri is the nephew of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and is also an accused in the VVIP choppers case. “The attached assets include a villa in Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, worth 20 million AED and balances in five Swiss bank accounts amounting to $45.55 million,” the agency said in a statement.

Saxena was deported by India from the UAE in January last year and was arrested by the ED. He is currently out on bail.