DEHRADUN: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) will investigate the allegations of money laundering to the tune of around Rs 200 crore by Dehradun-based Social Mutual Benefit Company Limited. It is alleged that between 2017 and 2020, more than Rs 200 crore was deposited as fixed deposits in the company. When these accounts, opened under different names, were examined, it was found that many of these people were dead.
Social Mutual Benefit Company Limited is linked to relatives of KS Panwar, who was the industrial advisor to former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. Now, in compliance with the government’s directives, the police headquarters has handed over the investigation to the EOW after orders to the effect were issued by Additional Director General of Police Crime and Law and Order, Dr V Murugesan.
According to Additional Secretary, Home, Ridhim Agarwal, a detailed special investigation into the case was recommended after a preliminary inquiry was conducted by the police headquarters. “It is expected that the EOW will investigate the matter at the earliest,” he told this newspaper.
KS Panwar, former advisor to Rawat, said, “I have no involvement in this company. It is a family member’s company. Anyway, it has been investigated twice before. The police have already conducted a probe into the case. Now it seems that someone wants to target us by forcibly raising this episode again.”
Panwar’s wife was a director in the company from 2017 to 2020. It is alleged that during this period, black money was laundered by fraudulently depositing money in RD-FDs in the name of several people.