Money laundering case: Anil Deshmukh fails to appear before ED, requests virtual interaction

Deshmukh submitted a letter to the agency through his lawyer Inderpal Singh as authorised representative, in compliance with the summons

For the second time in four days, former Maharashtra home minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh – who is facing allegations of corruption and misconduct – failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Already facing an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Deshmukh (72) exempted himself from appearing before the federal agency on Saturday and Tuesday.

Read | Lawyer appears before ED in money laundering case again Anil Deshmukh

Deshmukh has sought a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and also requested to record his statement on audio-video mode.

In a letter to ED’s Mumbai-based assistant director Tassine Sultan, citing comorbidities, Deshmukh wrote: “I am a septuagenarian, about 72 years of age, suffering from various comorbidities including hypertension and cardiac problems, etc. I have already exposed my person to some extent on June 25 in my long interaction with you spanning over several hours during the course of the search and recording my statement. Thus, it may not be prudent or desirable to appear in person today and I am sending my authorised representative.”

The ED on Saturday arrested Deshmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45).