Former Minister Anil Deshmukh Moves SC in Money Laundering Case. Skips ED's Summon For The Third Time Stating Investigation is Not Transparent

Picture Credits: mid-day.com

In a letter to ED’s Mumbai-based assistant director Tassine Sultan, the former minister said: “A series of events has given rise to apprehensions in my mind that neither procedure of law is being followed nor any objective investigations are being carried out.”

Pursuant to issuance of fresh summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Anil Deshmukh, former home minister of Maharashtra, seeking his appearance on July 5, a plea seeking protection from any coercive action in the money laundering case was filed by him in the Supreme Court.

The former home minister has been issued three notices so far by the ED, asking him to appear at their office in south Mumbai Today to record his statement.

ED had issued fresh summons in relation to the bribery-cum-extortion case registered against Deshmukh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that resulted in his resignation in April this year.

The former home minister cited his "vulnerability" to COVID-19 as the reason for his non-compliance with the two previous summons. As an alternative he offered the option of video conferencing for recording his statement.

In addition to raids conducted on his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur, the ED carried out raids last month on the premises of the people who aided him.

The ED case against the former minister was initiated after the CBI booked him in a corruption case regarding alleged bribery of at least Rs 100 crore made by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

In his last communication sent to the agency, the former minister asserted that his statement had already been recorded by the agency during his "several hours" of interaction with the ED investigators when his premises were raided on June 25.

"I am sanguine to expose the falsity, hollowness and lack of substance in the allegations levelled against me," he had stated.