ED grants more time to Sanjay Raut

New Delhi, Jun 28: The ED has granted more time to Sanjay Raut, who had earlier been asked to appear before the central financial investigation agency on Tuesday.

"We had filed an application seeking some time to report before ED and it has been granted. We had demanded to provide 13-14 days time to present the documents in front of ED," his lawyer was quoted as saying by ANI.

The ED had summoned Rajya Sabha member Raut on Tuesday for questioning in the money laundering probe linked to the re-development of a Mumbai 'chawl' and other related financial transactions involving his wife and friends.

The development comes as the Shiv Sena party battles rebellion from a group of its MLAs, putting a question mark on the future of Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

The ED in April provisionally attached assets worth more than Rs 11.15 crore of Raut's wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.

The attached properties also include a flat in Mumbai's suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, the ED said in a statement. According to the ED, Sujit Patkar is a close associate of Sanjay Raut.

It is understood that the agency wants to question Sanjay Raut to know about his "business and other links" with Pravin Raut and Patkar and also about the property deals involving his wife. Pravin Raut was arrested by the ED in February.