mumbai the enforcement directorate is stepping up on action against a key figure in the money laundering case linked to maharashtra cm uddhav thackerays brother inlaw shridhar patankar the ed will approach court for a nonbailable warrant against nandkishore chaturvedi a book keeper who allegedly used shell firms to circulate funds used to buy properties in the name of a firm owned by patankarchaturvedi has avoided ed summons repeatedly and the agency has issued a lookout circular to prevent him from leaving india said sources ed has searched for chaturvedi in his hometown mathura and places in mumbai where he is known to have connections to record his statement but in vainreacting to the eds move shiv sena mp sanjay raut on wednesday said mva members are less likely to get relief from judiciary as compared to those against whom action is taken by the state be it param bir singh or anyone else there are around 25 people against whose crimes the state government is taking action all of them rushed to court and got some kind of relief can you show me even a single instance of similar kind of relief been given by the court to our peoplechaturvedi along with patankar were directors in hamsafar dealer pvt ltd and apple rose mercantile pvt ltd which the ed had investigated for alleged money laundering both the companies had transferred money into the accounts of shree saibaba grihanirmiti pvt ltd a firm owned and controlled by patankar before and after demonetisation in november 2016 patankar is brother of rashmi uddhavs wifethe ed and income tax it have been looking for chaturvedi since the last couple of years in separate cases they have been investigating after demonetisationin march 2017 the ed had registered a money laundering case against the pushpak bullion group of companies along with its promoters mahesh patel and handrakant patel for their dealing in demonetised currency the ed had arrested chandrakant patel in the case during the probe the ed learnt that patel and kin on earlier occasions had transferred rs 20 crore to nandkishore chaturvedi an accommodation entry provider who helped to bring unaccounted funds into legal banking channels through fictitious transactions by circulating them through his shell companies the agencys case is that part of these funds were used to buy properties through patankars company the ed on tuesday issued a press note stating that they had attached 11 flats of patankars company shree saibaba grihanirmiti pvt ltdthe ed press note said chaturvedi who operates a number of shell companies further transferred the money through his shell company hamsafar dealer private limited in the garb of extending unsecured loans in excess of rs 30 crore to shree saibaba grihanirmiti pvt ltd thus the money siphoned off in connivance with nandkishore chaturvedi was parked in the real estate projects by shree saibaba grihanirmiti pvt ltd