Events were witnessed in yet another high-profile case carried out by the Enforcement Directorate on Sunday. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who had failed to appear on the previous summons, was received by ED officials at his residence and later arrested in a money laundering case. Now, the agency is about to seek the leader’s custody in the PMLA court where the hearing will take place on Monday.
Raut and Shiv Sena, on their part, have accused the ED of joining hands with the Center to act against the opposition parties. Congress and TMC have also condemned the action against the probe agency citing a similar story. Sources told News18 that amid heated political trend, the ED will seek at least 10 days custody of Raut in the Patra rice land scam case.
It remains to be seen whether the plea of the agency, which has directed action against several high-profile individuals, especially politicians, over the past few months is successful. News18 reviewed some of these cases:
Nawab Malik
The ED had arrested NCP leader Nawab Malik on February 23 in connection with the money laundering probe into the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is currently imprisoned. The ED’s case is based on an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against a designated global terrorist and a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings and his associates.
The NCP leader had denied all the charges leveled against him and filed a petition in the Supreme Court to overturn the Bombay High Court order which had rejected his interim application for immediate release from jail.
Farooq Abdullah
The ED had summoned National Conference president Farooq Abdullah to its Srinagar office on May 31 in a money laundering case related to alleged financial irregularities in Jammu and Kashmir. Cricket Association (JKCA). In 2019, the 84-year-old three-time chief minister of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir recorded his statement in the same case.
According to the National Conference, veteran leaders will continue to cooperate with the authorities as they have in the past. Abdullah served as the president of the JKCA from 2001 to 2012, and is being probed by the CBI and the ED in the scam involving alleged financial misappropriation between 2004 and 2009.
TTV Dinakaran
TTV Dinakaran, the founding general secretary of Amma Maikal Munnetra Kazhagam party, has been accused of taking bribe. Election Commission officials. He had earlier appeared before the probe agency on April 12 as VK Sasikala’s nephew. According to reports, Dinakaran had bribed a senior Election Commission official to get the AIADMK’s two-leaf symbol for the Sasikala faction.
Satyendra Jain
Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain was taken into custody by the ED on May 31 in connection with a money laundering probe. The ED had arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader a day earlier under criminal sections of the PMLA.
Special Judge Geetanjali Goel issued the remand order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, requested Jain to be kept in custody for 14 days. He said there was a tainted layer of money and the agency was trying to determine whether the accused was laundering someone else’s money and whether there were other potential beneficiaries.
DK Shivakumar
Congress leader DK Shivakumar was summoned by a Delhi court on July 1 by Special Judge Vikas Dhul in a money laundering case registered against him in 2018.
The court had issued the order after taking cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the ED through Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana against Shivakumar and others in the case. The ED had arrested Congress Karnataka unit president Shivakumar in this case on September 3, 2019, and was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on October 23, 2019. The Income Tax Department had filed a charge sheet against him. The leader has formed the basis of the case on charges of alleged tax evasion and ‘hawala’ transactions worth crores of rupees before a special court in Bengaluru last year.
Karti Chidambaram
The ED is probing Congress MP Karti Chidambaram for facilitating visas in lieu of a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to Chinese workers for the Talwandi Sabo Power Limited project. Under the UPA government, the Home Ministry reportedly cleared illegal visas for Chinese nationals in exchange for a bribe from Karti Chidambaram in 2011. Karti’s father P Chidambaram was the Home Minister at that time. Karti has filed a petition in the court for bail in this case, which has been rejected by the ED.
Abhishek Banerjee
The ED is probing an alleged coal smuggling case against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee. While Abhishek Banerjee has been questioned twice by the ED in this case, his wife Rujira has not yet been produced before the agency despite the summons being issued.
Ajit Pawar
The ED is probing Ajit Pawar, senior NCP leader and Maharashtra government minister Ajit Pawar in a money laundering case involving his family members. According to the ED, illicit money was used in several benami properties attached recently.
Anil Parabi
The ED had recently accused Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab. The agency may soon summon him to record his statement in the case. Last Thursday, the ED had also raided seven places, including two houses of Parab. A case of money laundering was registered by Parab in relation to a resort built in Ratnagiri’s Dapoli in violation of Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) norms.
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