Before being arrested by ED, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut accused agency of running ‘extortion racket’

Earlier this year, Sanjay Raut had alleged that some officers of the ED had been running an “extortion racket” in Mumbai with the help of some people, including BJP leaders.

Eventually, in light of his allegations, the Mumbai police had formed an SIT and later the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered an FIR. While the SIT was eventually disbanded on the ground that no evidence was found, the Bombay High Court has stayed the ACB probe and the matter will be heard later this month.

#WATCH | Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut being taken by ED officials along with them after he was detained in connection with Patra Chawl land scam case from his residence pic.twitter.com/VtjjuQJhxM

— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2022

On March 8 this year, Raut during a press conference had referred to a complaint submitted before the Mumbai police by Arvind Bhosle, a Shiv Sena worker, detailing allegations against certain ED officials and other individuals including Jitu Navlani. Bhosle’s complaint was submitted to the then Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey who eventually asked the SIT to probe the matter.

The eight-page letter by Bhosle mentioned seven companies which he alleged are held or closely controlled by Navlani. Bhosle claimed Navlani was “one of the conduits of Enforcement Directorate, Western Region”.

In his letter, Bhosle said that Navlani gave information to some ED officials about the financial activities of some people. Later, those people would be summoned by the ED under the pretext of conducting an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“Upon visits, the persons summoned by ED personnel for investigation, they are threatened of their arrest/detention and so also attachment of their assets/properties and thereupon in connivance with Navlani ‘deals’ are struck with the persons summoned by ED,” alleged Bhosle in his letter.

“The person summoned are extorted of huge money in cash and even remitting payments in the account of Navlani from the period between 2015 to 2020 a huge amount of nearly Rs 59 crore has been remitted in accounts of the aforesaid seven entities which are owned and/or closely held companies/entities of Navlani,” he also alleged.

The letter named 70 companies that were allegedly extorted and the amount transferred to companies that it claimed were linked to Navlani. The letter further reads, “It is shocking and horrifying to note that those personnel of ED who are expected to investigate money laundering cases are themselves involved in massive money laundering.”

While the Mumbai police were asked to conduct an enquiry into the matter, it was the ACB that eventually registered an FIR against Navlani in May. It was believed that as part of the probe, the ACB would also check if allegations against some ED officials made by Bhosle had any merit. ED officials, however, were not formally named in the FIR.

As part of their probe, the ACB had also written to the ED seeking information on their probe against the 70 companies that were mentioned in the letter. However, ED approached the vacation bench of the Bombay High Court seeking urgent relief for a stay in the probe in the FIR against Navlani. The agency also sought for the probe to be transferred to the CBI.

The ED had argued that the FIR was “mala fide” and an “open-ended” investigation will “demoralise the officers and affect their morale.” The High Court then stayed the probe in the matter and it will be heard later this month.

When the FIR was registered in the case, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power and now the ACB will report to the Eknath Shinde-BJP-led government in the state.