New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against former zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sameer Wankhede, who is accused of demanding ₹25 crore bribe from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not framing his son Aryan Khan in a drug case in October 2021 besides amassing wealth more than his known sources of income, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.
Former NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede. (ANI file)
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The financial crimes probe agency has registered the case against Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, a few days back based on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) first information report (FIR) filed in May last year.
He is likely to be soon summoned for questioning in the matter by the ED.
Officials cited above said that as soon as Wankhede learnt about ED filing a case against him, he has already moved the high court pleading that no coercive action should be taken against him.
The high court has already granted him relief from coercive action in the CBI case.
It is alleged in the CBI first information report (FIR) filed on May 11, 2023, which names as accused Wankhede, former SP of NCB - Vishwa Vijay Singh, intelligence officer Ashish Ranjan, and two private persons – Kiran Gosavi and Sanville D’Souza, that ₹25 crore was demanded from Shah Rukh Khan in return of for not framing his son, Aryan in the October 2021 Cordelia drug case. The bribe demand was reduced to ₹18 crore by the accused persons.
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CBI has already questioned Wankhede and other accused persons in the case. The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has dismissed the charges against him saying the CBI action was result of a “vendetta” on part of a few NCB officers.
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CBI has already questioned Wankhede and other accused persons in the case. The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has dismissed the charges against him saying the CBI action was result of a “vendetta” on part of a few NCB officers.
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Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3, 2021, a day after the controversial raid on Cordelia cruise in Mumbai. A special investigation team (SIT) formed by the NCB gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan on May 27 last year saying he was not part of any larger drug-dealing racket as alleged by Wankhede.
NCB’s internal probe revealed that names of Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant were included at the last moment in the “information note” of the agency. Besides, procedures such as documentation of seizure of phones, and the recording of statements were not done properly by Wankhede’s team, the investigation found.
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The NCB, in an affidavit filed before Bombay high court, stated Wankhede cannot use his chats with actor Shah Rukh Khan as evidence of his integrity since he kept these chats “secret”.
“Moreover, it is pertinent to note that there was no reason for Wankhede to have continued such chats with Shah Rukh Khan without informing his superior officers,” the NCB said. These chats are currently being analysed by CBI as part of its probe against the officer.
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.
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Home/India News/Aryan Khan case: Sameer Wankhede faces money laundering charges by ED
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