Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to appear before Enforcement Directorate in money laundering case

MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh will on Tuesday appear before Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with an alleged money laundering case. 

Deshmukh was earlier asked to depose before the investigating officer at the ED's office on Saturday for questioning in the money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to his resignation from the post of state home minister in April this year.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh for questioning today in connection with an alleged money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/7XUOOeVgDN — ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2021

The NCP leader, however, had sought a fresh date for appearance before the ED, following which the agency asked him to appear for questioning this week.

The central agency on Saturday arrested Deshmukh's personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45) after it carried out raids against them and the former home minister in Mumbai and Nagpur on Friday.

The ED's case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) first carried out a preliminary inquiry followed by a regular case being filed on the orders of the Bombay High Court.

The court had asked the CBI to look into the allegations of bribery made against Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Deshmukh, who resigned from his post in April following the allegations, has denied any wrongdoing. 

In a related development, a Nagpur-based lawyer had appeared before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday in connection with a money laundering case against Deshmukh.

The central agency had summoned advocate Tarun Parmar last week after he complained to the agency against Deshmukh and some other politicians, claiming that he knew how these people were involved in money laundering and had documents to prove it. 

Parmar reached the ED's office in south Mumbai around 11 am on Monday carrying some documents against Deshmukh and others.