Mumbai, September 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 13 movable and immovable properties, including flats, a plot, fixed deposits and bank balances, collectively valued at Rs 13.44 crore in Mumbai, Goa and Madhya Pradesh in connection with an alleged financial fraud involving functionaries and a Chartered Accountant associated with the United Services Club.
The action was taken by the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against assets allegedly belonging to Bernadette Bharat Varma, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma and others, the agency said in a statement.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
According to the ED, its investigation found that Bernadette Varma, who served as Deputy Secretary (Finance) of the United Services Club, allegedly acted in connivance with her husband, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma, to open or facilitate the opening of fake or dummy bank accounts bearing names similar to those of the club’s genuine vendors.
The agency alleged that around Rs 77 crore was transferred into these accounts. The funds, which the ED described as proceeds of crime, were subsequently allegedly diverted to personal and joint bank accounts belonging to Bernadette Varma, Bharat Varma, their family members and associates.
The investigation further revealed that the couple allegedly used the proceeds of crime to acquire several immovable properties and invested part of the funds in fixed deposits with various banks.
The ED also alleged that proceeds of crime amounting to around Rs 11 crore were transferred to the bank account of Jyotirgamay Foundation, a trust. The funds were subsequently allegedly diverted to accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members and firms controlled by him, along with other related persons. Pandey was associated with the United Services Club as its Chartered Accountant, the agency said.
The latest attachment follows an earlier action in the case, in which the ED attached 35 properties valued at Rs 34.51 crore on March 20.
The agency’s investigation into the alleged financial irregularities and the movement of the suspected proceeds of crime is continuing.
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