Enforcement Directorate Arrests Ex-President of Maharashtra-Based Educational Society in Money Laundering Case

In a money laundering case, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has detained Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh, the former President of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society (SCSES).

On the basis of a FIR filed by Vaduj Police Station in Satara, Maharashtra against Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh, President of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society & Others alleging that the management had collected funds in cash from students for admission into a college namely Institute of Medical Science & Research, Mayani of Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society, whereas the collegians were not aware of the collegians’ existence.

Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Education Society, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, is a charity trust that engages in educational activities, according to the ED investigation.

For the academic years 2012-13 and 2013-14, the trust was granted authorization to operate a medical college with 100 seats (85 government quota and 15 management quota). In 2014, however, the Admission Regulatory Authority denied authorization for MBBS admission for the academic year 2014-15. Despite the fact that admission permission was only granted to 200 students, Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh, President of SCSES, fraudulently and illegally collected approximately Rs. 29 crore from more than 550 students under the guise of admission in MBBS (in cash) as donation from 2012-13 to 2015-16. However, admission was not granted to approximately 350 students out of the 550 students. According to the investigation, Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh appointed numerous brokers on a commission basis to entice potential students to submit a contribution in exchange for admission.

On 07.05.2022, the ED presented Mahadev Ramachandra Deshmukh before the Hon’ble PMLA Court, requesting detention of the accused. The Hon’ble PMLA Court was delighted to give Enforcement Directorate custody of the accused till May 18, 2022.

Further investigation is going on.