New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached a residential premise and deposits worth about Rs 1.88 crore of controversial antiquities dealer Monson Mavunkal and his family as part of a money laundering investigation.
Mavunkal has “cheated” various persons under the guise of being a collector of antiques and artefacts, which did not have the antique value as claimed by him, the federal agency said in a statement.
“He also made people believe that a huge amount of money was lying in his bank account which was received as proceeds of sale of artefacts, but were not given clearance as per FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) provisions,” the ED claimed.
Mavunkal, it alleged, had forged a bank statement for this purpose and based on these “false” representations, he collected money from the complainants, the agency said.
It said Monson Mavunkal and his family members such as Monsy Mavunkal, Mimisha Monson and Manas Monson had “by commission of scheduled offence and other offences relatable to scheduled offence, derived and obtained the proceeds of crime in the form of movable and immovable properties worth Rs 1.88 crore which have now been provisionally attached by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.” The attached properties include a residential premise, 10 KSFE (Kerala State Financial Enterprises Ltd) term deposits/Sugama belonging to Monson Mavunkal and his family members.
The money laundering case was filed taking cognisance of multiple Kerala Police FIRs filed against the “fraud” antique dealer, Monson Mavunkal and others, the ED said.
A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Kerala had in June, 2023 sentenced Mavunkal to life imprisonment till the end of his natural life for repeatedly raping a minor girl a few years ago and said the convict does not deserve any leniency. PTI NES CK
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