Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against a Mumbai lawyer and four others for allegedly duping an investment banker with forged artworks, including pieces falsely attributed to M.F. Hussain and S.H. Raza, in a scam worth Rs.17.9 crore.
The case centers on investment banker Puneet Bhatia, who bought 11 paintings from Art India International, owned by Rajesh Rajpal, earlier this year. The sellers claimed the artworks came from retired IAS officer Subroto Banerjee and a Maharaja Raghavendra Parmar. Both denied involvement, Banerjee said he never sold any paintings, and Parmar, a poor farmer, was allegedly manipulated into signing fake documents.
According to the ED, lawyer Vishwang Desai, claiming decades of experience as an art collector, convinced Bhatia to invest and vouched for the paintings’ authenticity, while Rajpal prepared fraudulent provenance papers.
The investigation also led to the seizure of assets worth over Rs.6.47 crore, including paintings, sculptures, and silver items. The ED has filed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with court proceedings underway.
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