October 20, 2025

Mumbai buzzes with a fresh twist in the sweeping money laundering saga involving Axis Mutual Fund. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now pointed fingers at Vaishali Joshi, the wife of the prime accused Viresh Joshi, a former chief dealer at Axis Mutual Fund, for her deep role in a whopping Rs 107 crore laundering case. Vaishali is no small player. She owns properties worth Rs 12 crore made from dirty money, including luxury flats at World View, Lower Parel, and the posh Trump Tower in Worli. Alongside her husband Viresh and father-in-law Gangaram Joshi, she shares a snazzy flat and property in London worth Rs 11 crore, bought just in 2023. Trying to keep it low, Vaishali told ED she runs a "makeup business and earned around Rs 4 lakh per annum." But ED’s eyes see more. In their charge sheet, Vaishali, Viresh, and four others including Viresh’s brother Vipul Joshi and father Gangaram Joshi, were named as accused masterminds. The ED boldly stated, "That she was actively involved in the process of money laundering and opened several joint accounts to frustrate the proceedings under PMLA... investigation established beyond doubt that the accused has been directly and actually involved in the various processes and activities connected with the proceeds of crime." Vaishali also teamed up with her brother-in-law Vipul and niece Hiral to open multiple joint bank accounts. These accounts helped hide the crime money and make it look clean. How did Viresh rake in this huge sum? ED reveals that Viresh made Rs 106.74 crore through clever front-running trades, taking home 88% of the profits in cash. This massive cash was moved through shell companies to accounts controlled tightly by Joshi’s family. These funds bought properties in India and the UK and were converted into fixed deposits. Four accomplices also got a cut: Sumit Desai and Pranav Vora got 10% profits for providing mule trading accounts and Dubai trading terminals, while Prijesh Kurani who managed these accounts earned 2%. However, Kurani avoided ED summons, and the probe continues. Digging deeper, the ED found Rs 93.54 crore moved into Joshi-controlling accounts involving 273 Kolkata-based companies — most were fake! To clamp down, ED attached 16 luxurious properties worth Rs 45.5 crore, including four Mumbai flats and two London ones. Viresh's secret weapon? Vibgyor Capital Holding Pvt Ltd, a company with no business but directors Vipul and Gangaram, used to launder cash. Vipul, surprisingly, works a normal job earning just Rs 30,000 monthly but holds Rs 33 crore in his bank accounts. When questioned, Vaishali claimed ignorance about the money's source and accounts, saying her husband alone managed all financial matters including their daughters’ education in London and her foreign trips. She said she only signed forms as he directed. Vipul’s wife Rupa also declared she knew nothing about a huge Rs 7.8 crore unsecured loan in her name. She earns Rs 50,000 monthly from a tiffin service and said Vipul and Viresh handled her accounts. Their daughter Hiral also blamed Viresh for transactions in her accounts. Luckily, neither Rupa nor Hiral is charged. Even Gangaram said his sons ran his and his wife’s accounts. ED’s tough stance comes just a week after charging homemaker Bharti Pawar and 16 others in another laundering case involving former VVCMC chief Anil Pawar. This tale of cash, glamour, and cunning money moves is far from over. The ED’s trap tightens, and Joshi family’s murky money empire faces a major storm ahead!

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Tags: Money laundering, Enforcement directorate, Axis mutual fund, Vaishali joshi, Property attachment, Financial fraud,