Kalmadi questioned by ED in CWG laundering case

CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi was questioned by ED in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering in the run-up to the 2010 sporting extravaganza.

New Delhi: Sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi was on Wednesday questioned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering in the run-up to the 2010 sporting extravaganza.

The agency questioned Kalmadi for the third time in the past two months and recorded his statement in the Timing Scoring and Result (TSR) event of the games which is also being probed by the CBI. He was quizzed for close to six hours, sources said. During the questioning, the sleuths grilled Kalmadi about his role as the chairman of the games committee and in the preparations of the games. He was, according to sources, also asked about the various clearances and remittances the CWG OC had made in awarding the TSR contract. On April 17, he was questioned in the ED office in the same case while his statement was recorded in a separate case of alleged forex violations on March 25 by the agency. Kalmadi has denied any wrongdoing in these cases. The agency`s probe into money laundering against the Pune MP is with regard to its complaint on the basis of a CBI FIR on charges of cheating, conspiracy and corruption in the TSR contract of the Commonwealth Games. CBI had arrested Kalmadi last year in this case and he is now out on bail. His role in awarding the contract for installing the TSR system to Swiss Times Omega at a huge cost of Rs 141 crore is under ED`s probe. The agency had registered a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) last year. ED is also probing Kalmadi`s role in the alleged forex- related contraventions in the conduct of the Queens Baton Relay (QBR) held in 2009 in London and it had questioned him in this case on March 25. PTI