Overview

• The chargesheet stems from a 2019 Mumbai Police EOW FIR that accused MSCB officers of fraudulent low-price sales of cooperative sugar mills bypassing due procedures.
• The ED alleges that a 2012 Kannad SSK auction was rigged to disadvantage rival bidders and steer the mill to Pawar’s firm, Baramati Agro.
• In March 2023, the agency provisionally attached over ₹50 crore in Baramati Agro assets, including land, machinery and buildings in Aurangabad district.
• The ED has contested the Mumbai EOW’s January 2024 closure report, which had concluded that no criminal offence was made out in the MSCB transactions.
• Pawar denies wrongdoing, labels the action politically motivated and pledges to challenge the case in a special PMLA court that has yet to take cognizance.