ED likely to summon Shivakumar for questioning

Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to issue fresh summons to Congress leader D K Shivakumar asking him to appear before at its headquarter here next week.

The ED is likely to question him on his financial dealings about the year 2013-14 as it registered money laundering case against him, sources in the probing agency said here.

The senior Congress leader is currently out on bail.

Shivakumar, who was in the national capital, learnt to have held a meeting with the legal team on Sunday.

Separately, the Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a plea by Anjaneya Hanumanthaiah, co-accused of Shivakumar, and others in money laundering case, to quash 120 B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) slapped by ED.

When the matter came before the Chief Justice S A Bobde headed the bench, the matter was adjourned for two weeks, since another petition by petitioner was pending in different bench of the same court.

The ED had in September 2018 registered the money laundering case against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, Sachin Narayan and others. The case was based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them last year before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and 'hawala' transactions worth crores.

The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associates of transporting a huge amount of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with the help of other accused.