The ED which arrested Palande and Shinde on June 26, said in the past that the two were not cooperating with the agency.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday has filed the first chargesheet against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh’s aides, personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde in connection with money laundering case against Deshmukh.
The ED which arrested Palande and Shinde on June 26, said in the past that the two were not cooperating with the agency. The officials claimed the duo handled the money laundering linked to Deshmukh’s alleged bribe-cum-extortion business. Both have been charged under relevant sections of PMLA. Deshmukh is the main accused in the case, and the NCP leader and his aides were booked after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report (FIR) against them on April 21.
An ED official related to the probe told IANS, "A charge sheet has been filed in the case and Deshmukh's personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde have been named in it."
According to the probing agency, the 4,500-page chargesheet has been filed before a Special PMLA court.
Also read: SC junks Anil Deshmukh’s plea against Bombay HC order refusing to quash CBI FIR in corruption case
Meanwhile, Anil Deshmukh on Thursday had said he would appear before the ED, which summoned him in connection with its probe into a money laundering case, "after the legal process is completed".
In April and May, through the investigation, the CBI and the ED have conducted searches at Deshmukh's residences in Mumbai and Nagpur and also those of his personal secretary and personal assistant.
The ED probe into Deshmukh’s financial transactions is in line with the CBI probe into former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s allegations of corruption against the NCP leader. Deshmukh has denied the allegations.
Deshmukh has refuted the allegations and his lawyers have called the ED action against him unjustified, and the ex-minister recently approached the Supreme Court with a petition seeking protection from any coercive action by the ED.
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