ED Questions Pratibha Chakankar For Over 8 Hours In Money Laundering Probe Linked To Ashok Kharat

Mumbai, May 4: Pratibha Chakankar, younger sister of former Maharashtra State Commission for Women chairperson and NCP leader Rupali Chakankar, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with an alleged money laundering probe linked to self-styled godman Ashok Kharat.

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Officials said she was questioned for over eight hours after being summoned under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency has also issued summons to her son, Tanmay Chakankar, in connection with suspected financial linkages in the case.

Multiple accounts under ED scrutiny

According to officials familiar with the probe, the ED has identified four bank accounts linked to Chakankar and her son, two in her name and two in Tanmay’s, held with Samata Nagari Sahakari Patsanstha in Nashik.

These four accounts are part of a wider network of over 134 suspected “ghost” or proxy accounts across two cooperative credit societies, allegedly used by Kharat to route funds through cooperative banking channels.

Officials said Kharat was shown as a nominee in these accounts, and his mobile number was allegedly used during the account-opening and operational process.

Transactions and layering pattern

Two accounts in Pratibha Chakankar’s name, a regular savings account and a “special savings account” opened in 2021, are under scrutiny. Investigators said these “special savings accounts” were allegedly designed to function like internal fixed deposit instruments within the cooperative society, allowing funds to be parked for a fixed period and withdrawn later with returns, without following standard banking transparency norms.

According to probe findings, around Rs 26 lakh was initially deposited in Chakankar’s regular savings account in 2021. This amount was subsequently allegedly transferred into a linked special savings account, also in her name, which carried a unique internal code and functioned as a deposit-like instrument.

Officials said the funds remained parked in this account until 2024, before being withdrawn after maturity, with total transactions exceeding Rs 40 lakh.

A similar pattern is suspected in accounts linked to her son, Tanmay Chakankar, who is expected to appear before the agency soon. Officials described the transactions as indicative of a “classic layering pattern”, alleging that deposits and withdrawals were routed through associated ghost savings accounts.

Chakankar denies involvement

During questioning, officials confronted Chakankar with bank records indicating transactions exceeding Rs 40 lakh in these accounts. Sources said she denied any involvement, claiming she neither opened nor operated the accounts and was unaware of their existence at the credit society.

She reportedly told investigators that she and her son had submitted their Aadhaar and PAN details during a visit to Kharat around two years ago for what was described as religious or pilgrimage-related purposes. She alleged that these documents may have been misused to open fraudulent accounts without her knowledge.

Call records and ongoing probe

Officials are also examining communication records between Chakankar and Kharat. Call data records shared by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) with the ED indicate that over 230 calls and more than 200 messages were exchanged between April 2025 and March 2026. Investigators are analysing the nature of these interactions, though officials said the findings remain preliminary and are being verified.

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Kharat Money Laundering Case: ED Summons Pratibha Chakankar & Son; Rs70-Crore ‘Ghost Account Web’ Exposed

With multiple accounts, high-value transactions, and the suspected misuse of identity documents under the scanner, the ED is expected to intensify its investigation to establish the full extent of the alleged money trail and fix accountability.

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