ED Charges Lawyer and Others for Selling Fake Paintings Worth ₹17.9 Crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge sheet in Mumbai against lawyer Vishwang Desai and four others for selling 11 fake paintings of renowned artists such as M F Hussain and S H Raza to investment banker Puneet Bhatia for ₹17.9 crore.

The accused falsely claimed the paintings were procured from a “Maharaja” of Madhya Pradesh and a retired IAS officer, who denied selling any artwork.

ED’s probe revealed forgery of documents and exploitation of a poor farmer, Raghavendra Parmar, to support fake provenance.

Assets worth ₹6.47 crore, including paintings and silver, were seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case originates from an FIR at Tardeo Police Station.