MUMBAI, Sept. 24 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted a chargesheet against a city-based art dealer and four others in a money-laundering case where fake artworks were allegedly sold to a senior executive of a US-based private equity firm, duping him of nearly Rs.15.7 crore. Filed recently in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, the charge sheet names art dealer Rajesh Rajpal, his Rare Art Gallery, lawyer Vishwang Desai, and two bullion traders, people involved in the sale of high purity metals, as accused in the case. The ED's probe began after the senior executive, Puneet Bhatia, filed a complaint with the Tardeo police. As per the FIR, in December 2023 the accused sold Bhatia fake paintings of renowned Indian artists like Jamini Roy, MF Husain, among others, and even gave him fabricated certificates of authenticity for the pieces. According to ED, while the art pieces were initially sold for a total of Rs.17.9 crore, the proceeds of the crime amount to Rs.15.7 crore, since Rajpal had repaid the rest to Bhatia after he filed a complaint about the paintings. In March last year, the ED searched six locations including the art dealer's house in south Mumbai and seized several digital devices and documents that revealed the modus operandi of the cartel involved in trading fake art. The operation involved passing off copies of renowned art pieces as the originals by generating fake authenticity certificates and provenance certificates that documented the piece's history of ownership. The ED said that the racket also allegedly involved several prominent art galleries and individuals in the field of curation. ED officers added the fake artworks included pieces by Jamini Roy, MF Husain, FN Souza, Jahangir Sabavala, SH Raza, NS Bendre, and Ram Kumar, among several others. Investigations have revealed that the cartel allegedly operated with the help of antique art collectors, small-time artists who created the fake replicas, and people claiming they were descendants of royal families. While the agency did not recover any money related to the crime from Desai, ED officers said, "By allegedly positioning himself as a trusted intermediary, the lawyer lent a facade of genuineness to the fraudulent transactions." Responding to ED's allegations against him, Desai told HT, "The complaint does not contain even a single statement that I was involved in the money trail or money-laundering. I only introduced the parties (to each other)," Desai said. He added that the "complaint" only alleges about his "limited role". Rajpal declined to comment on the issue, and told HT that he would have to first consult Desai. In December 2023 Desai had denied the allegations against him and told HT, "I am not the person who sold the paintings to Bhatia." The court will hear the matter on October 13 and review the ED's charge-sheet....