Anil Deshmukh Channeled Crores From Bar Owners to His Trust: ED

The ED said that Palande and Shinde were both instrumental in assisting Deshmukh.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a court that then Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh received over Rs 4 crore from bar owners in Mumbai, which he channelled to his trust in the form of donations through dummy companies.

The ED made this claim on 26 January, during the remand hearing of Dekhmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande and personal assistant Kundan Shinde, PTI reported. Both were arrested in connection to the alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion ongoing investigation into Deshmukh, which eventually spiraled into his resignation in April 2021.

The ED said that Palande and Shinde were both instrumental in assisting Deshmukh. They also told the court that bar owners had said in their statement that it was in a meeting held by the then head of crime intelligence unit Sachin Vaze, that the discussion with bar owners for collecting money for the smooth functioning of orchestra bars after hours, was discussed.

The ED said that Vaze had collected Rs 4.7 crore from various bar owners. Vaze told ED that he collected this money and handed it over to Shinde.

Vaze had also said that he would get direct instructions from Deshmukh. He was given a list of bars and collected Rs 3 lakh each month from them. While Vaze is currently in judicial custody, Deshmukh’s lawyers sought a fresh date for appearance before the agency, which had summoned him for questioning.

Vaze is in custody in connection with the recovery of an explosives-laden SUV found outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai.

The Trust in question is a Nagpur-based Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha. Anil Deshmukh is the chairman of this Trust and his family members are trustees and members. The Trust would get money from various companies in Delhi, which only exist on paper, the ED said.

Approximately Rs 4.18 crore was diverted to the Trust in the garb of loans/donations, the ED said.

“Accordingly, it is apparent that Deshmukh by virtue of his earlier position as state home minister had received amounts to the tune of approx Rs 4.70 crore from the orchestra bar owners and the amount was apparently used by him through his son Hrishikesh, for providing the cash to Delhi-based (on) paper companies. After layering, the same (money) was routed to the Shri Sai Shikshan Sanstha Trust in the form of donation.”

ED said according to PTI

The probe agency has also said that a foreign angle can’t be ruled out yet. The ED case against Deshmukh and others is borne after the CBI first carried out a preliminary enquiry (PE), followed by the filing of a regular case on the orders of the Bombay High Court.

The CBI had booked Deshmukh and others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act for "attempt to obtain undue advantage for the improper and dishonest performance of public duty".