The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 35 properties, valued at Rs 34.51 crore, in connection with a money laundering case in Mumbai. These assets, including flats, shops, and fixed deposits, are allegedly associated with Bernadette Bharat Varma, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma, and others. The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office undertook this action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED’s investigation stemmed from an FIR filed on February 25, 2025, by the Cuffe Parade Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Bernadette Bharat Varma, a former Deputy Secretary (Finance) of the United Services Club, is accused of creating fake bank accounts with her husband, through which around Rs 77 crore was allegedly diverted from the club.
According to the ED, the illicitly obtained funds were channeled into personal and joint bank accounts of the accused, their relatives, and associates. These funds were funneled into dummy bank accounts under the guise of vendors of the US Club, accounts of Bernadette Varma and Bharat Varma, Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust), among others. Investigations also revealed that the accused used the embezzled money to purchase various properties and invest in fixed deposits.
An additional Rs 11 crore was purportedly transferred to M/s Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust) and later redirected to accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family, and firms under his control. Pandey, a Chartered Accountant associated with the United Services Club, was reportedly involved in this financial web. The ED stated that further inquiries into the case are ongoing.
