Money laundering case: ED issues lookout notice against Anil Deshmukh; barred from leaving country

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout notice against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in relation to a Rs 100-crore money laundering case.

The lookout circular has been issued in order to bar Deshmukh from leaving the country and remains valid up to a year or till the agency cancels or renews it.

Officials at ports, road borders and airports are now authorised to detain Deshmukh if he tries to get out of India, according to India Today.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader has so far skipped five summons issued by the ED even as the probing agency raided his premises in Mumbai and Nagpur and also arrested two of the ex-minister's associates.

On September 3, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Anand Daga, a member of Deshmukh’s legal team, after day-long questioning for allegedly trying to influence the agency’s probe into the corruption charges against his client. Later ED initiated a probe against Deshmukh, and others based on a corruption case filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

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The Supreme Court had refused him interim respite from coercive action in the lawsuit last month.

Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh had levelled the allegations of extortion in March against the NCP and had alleged that dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze told him that Deshmukh had asked him to collect Rs 100 crore every month through illegal channels.

However, the NCP leader, denied any wrongdoing and resigned from his post in April following the allegations.

So far, the probing agency has arrested Deshmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde after carrying out raids against them and the NCP leader in Mumbai and Nagpur in connection with the case. 

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• Anil Deshmukh
• ED lookout notice
• Money laundering case
• barred from leaving country