Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate late Monday night after over 12 hours of questioning.
Deshmukh appeared before the agency on Monday after the Bombay High Court last week refused to quash ED summonses against him. He had skipped at least five previous ED notices.
Anil Deshmukh was questioned almost 13 hours. The team of ED Officials including additional director flew from Delhi to question Anil Deshmukh.
The money laundering case against Deshmukh and others was made out after the CBI booked him in a corruption case.
The federal probe agency recorded the statement of the NCP leader under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the criminal investigation being carried out by it in the alleged Rs 100 crore bribery-cum-extortion racket in the Maharashtra.
Anil Deshmukh was a “key person” in this case :
The questioning and recording of statements sessions went for long as officials said Deshmukh was a “key person” in this case and needs to be grilled.
A number of subjects including the disclosures made by suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze during ED questioning.
Deshmukh released a video message before going to the ED office in which he said that he himself is deposing before the agency after the Bombay HC order came last week.
The ED case of money laundering against Deshmukh, who was earlier the home minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and others came after the CBI booked him in the corruption case.
The first summons to Deshmukh, his wife and son Hrishikesh came soon after the ED raided their premises in Mumbai and Nagpur in June.
It subsequently arrested two of his aides in this case, personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45).
The ED also had attached assets worth Rs 4.20 crore that were stated to be “beneficially owned” by Deshmukh.