ED Cracks Down on Former Club Official in Mumbai Money Laundering Case
March 25, 2026
ETT News / New Delhi
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 35 movable and immovable properties worth around ₹34.51 crore in connection with an alleged ₹77 crore fraud and money laundering case linked to the United Services Club in Mumbai. The attached assets include flats, shops and fixed deposits, which the agency said belong to Bernadette Bharat Varma, Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma and others.
The ED initiated its probe on the basis of an FIR registered on February 25, 2025, at Cuffe Parade Police Station, Mumbai, under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The case pertains to the alleged siphoning of funds from the United Services Club through fake financial transactions.
According to the agency, Bernadette Bharat Varma, who served as Deputy Secretary (Finance) of the United Services Club, allegedly conspired with her husband Bharatkumar Shankarlal Varma to divert the club’s money. Investigators alleged that the duo opened or got opened multiple fake and dummy bank accounts using names similar to those of the club’s original and regular vendors.
The ED said the accused allegedly transferred around ₹77 crore of club funds into these dummy accounts and later diverted the money into the personal and joint bank accounts of Bernadette Varma, Bharat Varma, their family members and close associates. The agency has treated these funds as proceeds of crime under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The agency further alleged that the accused used part of the diverted money to acquire several immovable properties and invest in fixed deposits with various banks. These purchases and investments, according to the ED, formed a significant part of the attached assets.
During the investigation, the ED also found that around ₹11 crore was allegedly transferred to the bank account of M/s Jyotirgamay Foundation (Trust). The agency claimed that the funds were later diverted from the trust’s account to bank accounts linked to Chandra Prakash Pandey, his family members and firms allegedly controlled by him.
The ED said Chandra Prakash Pandey was the chartered accountant associated with the United Services Club, and investigators are examining his role in the alleged diversion and layering of funds.
The agency has not ruled out further attachments or arrests as it continues to trace the money trail and identify other beneficiaries in the case. Further investigation is underway.
ED Enforcement Directorate Mumbai ED US Club Fraud United Services Club Money Laundering Case PMLA Bernadette Bharat Varma
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