MUMBAI: A special Mumbai court on Wednesday remanded a woman, arrested in connection with the money-laundering probe against gangster Iqbal Mirchi, an aide of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, to the Enforcement Directorate custody till October 25.
The ED arrested Rinku Deshpande, about 45, for allegedly forging documents on Tuesday, officials said.
She was produced before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court judge P Rajvaidya, who sent her to ED custody.
The central agency's probe pertains to Mirchi purchasing three properties of Sir Mohammad Yusuf Trust in September 1986 for Rs 6.5 lakh through his Rockside Enterprise.
These properties Sea View, Marium Lodge and Rabia Mansion measuring 1,537 sq metres are located in Worli area of Mumbai.
On Wednesday, ED counsel Hiten Venegaokar told the court that Deshpande had received Rs 30.40 crore in her bank accounts and the money was distributed among the brokers, including Deshpande, he said.
In her statement, the agency said, Deshpande has acknowledged being a "fake confirming party" in the deal and accepted receiving Rs 30.40 crore.
However, to cover up the said transaction, she claimed to have given a loan of Rs 38 crore in cash to Ranjeet Singh Bindra, another accused arrested in the case.
But she could not explain the source of the said Rs 38 crore given to Bindra, who also denied having received the loan, the ED said.
Deshpande had not cooperated with the prosecution and had failed to provide facts during the course of recording of her statements, the agency said.
The ED had alleged that the woman had forged documents and had been shown as a tenant in one of the properties that were dealt by Mirchi and his associates.
Meanwhile, Bindra was remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday. He has applied for bail, which is likely to be heard on Thursday.
So far, the ED has made four arrests in the case.
While Mirchi's aide Humayun Merchant was arrested here on Monday, two others Haroun Aleem Yusuf and Ranjeet Singh Bindra were also held for allegedly facilitating these deals in this case early this month.
Senior NCP leader Praful Patel was also grilled by the ED in this case last week.
Mirchi, who died in 2013 in London, was alleged to be the right-hand man of Dawood Ibrahim for drug trafficking and extortion.
The ED has filed a criminal case against him, his family and others to probe money laundering charges for alleged illegal dealings in purchase and sale of costly real estate assets in Mumbai.