The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confirmed that around Rs 15 crore was withdrawn from one of the bank accounts of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, but it has so far not found a transaction from that account to his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty.
The identities of the recipients of the tranches amounting to Rs 15 crore are being verified.
Rajput’s family has claimed that Rs 15 crore was deposited in tranches from a bank account of the actor who had around Rs 17 crore to accounts with which he had no connection in a year. The agency registered on July 31 a money laundering case against Chakraborty and her relatives based on an FIR over abtment to suicide and criminal conspiracy filed in Patna by Rajput’s father, Krishna Kishore Singh, six days earlier.
A check of all transactions via online banking and debit cards from Rajput’s various bank accounts is yet to be completed. A source from the agency said that mapping these recordings will help shed light on where his money went and for what purposes. “We are investigating who used the debit cards and the online banking feature to determine if anyone else who had access to the PINs or the passwords could have performed those transactions.”
The investigation found that up to Rs 2.78 crore went to paying taxes, including taxes on goods and services. The ED also verifies a claim by a Rajput acquaintance that the actor was generous and often willing to pay for the needs of those close to him.
Another source said since Rajput and Chakraborty were dating, some small financial transactions between them through other accounts should be expected. “But according to the findings so far, no money was sent to her from the account from which Rs 15 crore was withdrawn.”
The agency is investigating the circumstances in which Rajput, Chakraborty and her brother Showik met for business activities. Rajput had founded two companies – Front India for World Foundation and Vividrage Rhealityx Pvt Ltd – of which Chakraborty and Showik are directors.
On Thursday, the agency interviewed Jayanti Saha, a famous talent manager who has handled Rajput’s accounts in the past, about transactions between her agency and the actor since 2019. It will briefly record the statements of Rajput’s bodyguard, a chef and a domestic help.
Chakraborty’s lawyer, Satish Maneshinde, denied all charges against her. ‘She has so far been investigated by two investigative agencies, including the Mumbai police, and nothing against her has come out, nor has anyone said anything against her. In every financial transaction there is an electronic trail that can be explored. ”
He pointed out that the Maharashtra government, in its recent confirmation to the Supreme Court over the plea of the actress seeking the transfer of the Patna FIR to Mumbai, said that Rajput’s relatives did not raise any suspicions against anyone. when Mumbai police recorded their statements shortly after the actor’s suicide on June 14. Rajput’s father, in his counter-statement, said he approached Patna police after feeling that the Mumbai police were ‘disarming’ the investigation.
On Thursday, the Maharashtra government told the court that registration of the Patna FIR was politically motivated. “Newspaper reports … state that the Bihar police were eager to register the FIR, but Bihar’s prime minister and another minister persuaded them to register it,” it said.
The accusation came hours after the Bihar government told the court that the Maharashtra police had not yet registered an FIR on Rajput’s suicide, nor had the support of the Patna police ‘on account of political pressure’ extended.
CLICK HERE!! For the in-depth updates on all OTT content
.
