An Enforcement Directorate (ED) team on Saturday arrived at the residence of veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel to interrogate him on the money laundering case involving Sandesara brothers.
A report by news agency PTI said that the three-member team of the ED visited Patel at his 23, Mother Teresa Crescent residence in central Delhi, adding that the Congress leader’s statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED had earlier summoned Patel twice for questioning but the Rajya Sabha MP said that he could not leave his residence due to the COVID-19 pandemic as government guidelines advised senior citizens to stay indoors.
The financial investigation agency agreed to send a team to his house for questioning.
The ED is investigating Patel’s role in the alleged financial fraud committed by Sandesara brothers namely Chetan and Nitin with the help of others in the Gujarat-based firm Sterling Biotech. It is alleged that Sterling Biotech borrowed more than Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank before it turned it into non-performing assets. The volume of total financial fraud is being pegged at Rs 8,100 crore, reported Hindustan Times.
The ED’s decision to question Ahmed Patel comes just a day after the CBI raided premises linked to Ratul Puri, nephew of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath.
