Ex-Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh's son active participant in money laundering: ED tells court

Mumbai, Nov 22: Opposing the bail plea of former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh's son Hrishikesh Deshmukh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday told a special court that he was an active participant in money laundering and had assisted his father in projecting the ill-gotten money as an untainted donation.

"The applicant (Hrishikesh Deshmukh) was an active participant in the laundering of proceeds of crime. The applicant assisted his father Anil Deshmukh to launder ill-gotten money into a complex web of companies," The anti-money laundering agency said in the affidavit. The bail plea will come up for hearing on December 4.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the court that Hrishikesh Deshmukh might tamper with evidence or attempt to obfuscate the trail of the proceeds of crime if he is granted protection from arrest.

"In the majority of these companies, the applicant (Hrishikesh Deshmukh) is either a director of the company or a shareholder in it," the affidavit said. It added that Hrishikesh had connived with his father and transferred part of the Rs 4.70 crore bribe amount received from various bars and restaurants via dismissed police officer Sachin Waze through hawala to his associates which was donated by his associated to a trust run by the Deshmukh family.

"With the help of Delhi-based shell companies, the applicant (Hrishikesh Deshmukh) assisted his father Anil Deshmukh to launder the tainted money and projected it as untainted money by showing the same as donation," the ED said.

The ED further said that Hrishikesh Deshmukh and other family members created a complex web of companies in which suspicious transactions had taken place while also claiming that he had not cooperated in the probe despite six summons sent to him.

In his pre-arrest bail plea, Hrishikesh Deshmukh said that the "entire proceedings are actuated with malice" as he accused the investigations were commenced in a shady manner. The plea accused that there is a "witch-hunt campaign launched at the instance of certain vested inimical interests, some blatantly false allegations have been leveled by persons like dismissed cop Sachin Waze and former police commissioner Param Bir Singh, who have absolutely no credibility".

"These unscrupulous persons are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of extortion, fraud and even murder," the bail plea said.

The former Maharashtra minister was arrested in the case on November 1. He is currently in judicial custody.

Following a case filed by the CBI, the ED initiated a probe against Deshmukh on the charges of corruption and misuse of official positions. Sanjeev Palande (additional collector rank official who was working as Deshmukh's private secretary) and Kundan Shinde (Deshmukh's assistant) have been arrested in connection with the case. PTI