Mumbai: ED Attaches Assets Worth Rs 12.24 Crore in Lifeline Hospital Management Services Covid Scam
Mumbai, 22nd December 2023: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has taken a significant step in the ongoing investigation into the irregularities in Jumbo Covid facilities managed by M/s Lifeline Hospital Management Services.
The ED has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets amounting to Rs. 12.24 Crore belonging to the partners of the hospital management services, namely Sujit Patker, Dr. Hemant Gupta, Rajeev Salunkhe, Sanjay Shah, and their accomplice Sunil Kadam (a.k.a. Bala Kadam).
The attached assets include three flats in Mumbai, mutual fund units, and balances in bank accounts. The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by Azad Maidan Police Station, Mumbai, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The probe focuses on the period from July 2020 to February 2022, during which M/s Lifeline obtained tenders for supplying staff members to Jumbo Covid facilities at Dahisar and Worli.
Investigations revealed that the partners of M/s Lifeline submitted incomplete and false documents to secure the tender for supplying doctors, nurses, multi-purpose workers, and technicians. Despite the incomplete fulfillment of EOI conditions during the service period, the partners submitted fake attendance sheets and records, managing to receive Rs. 32.44 Crore from MCGM Authorities.
Following the funds’ receipt, the partners diverted the money for purchasing assets, repaying housing loans, and investing in real estate. The identified assets, totaling Rs. 12.23 Crore, have been provisionally attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Earlier arrests were made on July 19, 2023, with Sujit Patker, one of the partners of M/s Lifeline Hospital Management Services, and Dr. Kishore Bisure, Ex-Dean from BMC for Dahisar Jumbo Covid Centre. Both are currently in judicial custody. A Prosecution Complaint has already been filed against the partners of M/s Lifeline Hospital Management Services and associated persons/entities before the Special Court (PMLA) on September 15, 2023. The investigation is ongoing, with further developments expected.
