Money laundering case: ED files charge sheet against ex-Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh’s aides

Both were arrested by the federal agency on June 26 for their alleged role in the laundering of money on Deshmukh’s directions.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday filed a charge sheet against two aides of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in an alleged money laundering case, news agency ANI reported. Kundan Shinde, who was Deshmukh's assistant, and his personal secretary Sanjeev Paland have been chargesheeted in the case, according to the news agency. Both were arrested by the federal agency on June 26 for their alleged role in the laundering of money on Deshmukh’s directions.

Anil Deshmukh has denied all allegations against him multiple times.

The ED registered a case against Deshmukh after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against him on April 21 following the allegations that the former Shiv Sena leader directed a police officer to extort ₹100 crore a month from Mumbai’s hotels and bars. The allegations were levelled by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh.

Deshmukh has denied all allegations against him multiple times.

The ED has claimed that its probe suggests that Deshmukh misused his position as Maharashtra home minister, and through assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze collected ₹4.7 crore from Mumbai’s bars for their “smooth functioning”. Vaze has now been dismissed from the force and is in Taloja Jail for his alleged role in the Antilia explosives scare and Mansukh Hiran murder cases.

The agency also claims that this money was later sent to two brothers in Delhi who operated bogus companies and later diverted the money as donations to Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sansthan, an educational trust controlled by the Deshmukhs.