ED opposes Sachin Vaze’s bail plea, says he is key link to conspiracy

Dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze was the key link to the whole conspiracy, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) argued before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday, while opposing his bail plea in the money-laundering case against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh

Dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze was the key link to the whole conspiracy, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) argued before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday, while opposing his bail plea in the money-laundering case against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.

Dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Vaze HT File Photo

Vaze had filed for bail before special PMLA judge Rahul Rokade through advocates Sajal Yadav and Harsh Gangurde after the court took cognisance of ED’s chargesheet and issued process against him.

The dismissed assistant police inspector, lodged at Taloja jail, was first arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Antilia explosives scare and Mansukh Hiren murder case.

Yadav sought bail for Vaze in the money-laundering case, contending that he was not arrested by ED and the agency had completed its investigation and filed a chargesheet and therefore, he was entitled to bail.

Opposing the plea, ED’s counsel Sunil Gonsalves said Vaze was an influential person and an accused in several cases, including the Antilia explosives scare.

ED said if Vaze was granted bail, he might influence witnesses and consequently might hamper the investigation, as he was an influential person having connections with highly-placed political persons and senior police officials.

“Vaze directly assisted Deshmukh in the generation of proceeds of crime. Vaze while performing his official duties indulged in illegal activities. He was getting direct instructions from Deshmukh in different police cases,” the agency said.

It said Vaze had on Deshmukh’s instructions held meetings with various bar owners and asked them to individually pay ₹3 lakh per month for smooth functioning of their establishments till late hours without restriction on number of performance artists (the regulations framed by the state government limit the number of performance artists to eight per bar).

“In furtherance to this conspiracy to collect money from orchestra bar owners, Vaze had collected ₹4.70 crore between December 2020 and February 2021,” ED said.

“Vaze had on the directions of Deshmukh handed over the collected cash amounting to ₹4.70 crore to Kundan Shinde, the then PA to Deshmukh, on two occasions in January and February 2021. He, therefore, knowingly indulged in money-laundering activities and was an active participant in the generation of proceeds of crime as defined under Section 3 of PMLA, 2002,” the agency added.

The court posted Vaze’s bail plea for order on May 2.