Ex-BVA Corporator Sitaram Gupta, Builder Anil Gupta Booked for Money Laundering

Vasai-Virar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday launched a massive operation across 13 locations in the Vasai-Virar region, busting a large-scale illegal construction racket involving 41 unauthorized buildings in Nalasopara East’s Agarwal Nagar. The scam, linked to nearly 60 acres of government and private land, has led to serious allegations against former Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) corporator Sitaram Gupta and prominent builder Anil Gupta.

According to ED sources, the land was originally reserved for sewage treatment and dumping grounds by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC). However, political and real estate nexus allegedly converted it into residential and commercial plots without any legal approvals or sanctioned plans. The unauthorized buildings were sold to buyers, resulting in transactions worth crores, now under probe for money laundering.

Sitaram Gupta, a three-time corporator and influential BVA leader, is accused of abusing his political clout to pressurize civic officials and facilitate the illegal development. ED officials claim Gupta used his position to protect these projects and ensure smooth operations despite the blatant violations. Builder Anil Gupta, considered close to the former corporator, is believed to have constructed the majority of the structures.

During the raids, ED seized crucial documents, including bank records, registration papers, and digital evidence, from the residences and offices of both accused and associated real estate projects. The agency suspects deeper administrative involvement, with civic officials possibly complicit through inaction or collusion.

The crackdown has created panic among residents and homebuyers, many of whom invested their life savings or took home loans to purchase flats in these buildings. With the legality of these structures now in question, thousands fear financial loss and eviction if demolition orders follow.

The ED is expected to intensify the investigation, with more arrests and searches likely. Several other builders, brokers, and political figures are believed to be under scrutiny. Meanwhile, pressure mounts on the BVA leadership to issue a public response, as the scandal threatens to dent the party’s image in its stronghold.

This case is emerging as one of the largest construction-related financial scams in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in recent times, exposing the deep-rooted nexus between politics, real estate, and civic authorities in Vasai-Virar.