Sharada To Agusta-Westland: Six Infamous Cases Of Politicians Under ED Scanner

The grilling of the Gandhis has brought the spotlight back on the Enforcement Directorate of India, the centrally-run anti-corruption watchdog of the nation. Since its inception, the ED has stepped up time and again to check those in power including politicians and ministers for their alleged roles in scams and financial frauds that have harmed the nation. The importance of ED’s role can be observed in the February 15 Supreme Court observation that stressed the need for fast investigation by the ED comes in high-profile illegal money laundering cases, observing that "cash travels faster than light". 

Right now, the ED is in the news for investigating the National Herald case, in which several senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been questioned. Before that, the agency was in news for grilling AAP leader and Delhi health minister Satyender Jain for his alleged connection to a money laundering case. In recent years, however, critics have accused the ED of becoming a sword arm of the government in its apparent attempt to thwart Opposition leaders. In fact, following a lull after 2002 when the BJP government empowered it by passing new legislation against money laundering, the ED has been active again in the past decade. And many of these cases have been against Opposition leaders. Nevertheless, even before the BJP came to power at the centre, many leaders have been under the ED scanner.

Here’s a look at six most high-profile cases involving politicians that have been investigated by the ED.

Sharada Chit Fund Scam

The twin central investigating agencies, CBI ED have been haunting West Bengal’s ruling party, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), for about eight years now, starting with their investigations in the 2,500-crore Sharada chit fund scam.  The Saradha Group is an umbrella company in West Bengal with over than 200 private players. The company’s top officials were arrested in 2013 after it was alleged that the group  cheated over a million investors through its collective investment scheme. In 2016, the Narada sting operation showed a number of senior TMC leaders allegedly accepting cash from the representative of a fictitious company following which the Calcutta high court ordered a CBI investigation in March 2017 and subsequently, the ED entered the investigation as well. Several senior TMC leaders have been accused in the scam over the years by the ED and CBI including TMC General Secretary Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, MLA Madan Mitra and former minister Sovan Chatterjee. More recently, the ED arrested TMC leader and close Mamata-aide Partha Chatterjee for his alleged connection School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.

INX Media Scam

In May 2017, the Enforcement Directorate filed a case against Congress leader P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram alleging irregularities in the grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign investment of over Rs. 300 crore in 2007 when his father was the union finance minister. Karti Chidambaram is accused of taking a Rs.10 lakh bribe in the case. Based on information about alleged illegal payments made by INX media, the CBI filed a separate case against Mr Chidambaram and others. An FIR filed by the CBI at the time said that Karti had brokered for the Peter and Indrani Mukherjee couple-owned INX Media Private Limited (INX) for issue of foreign investment permits by his father’s ministry, for which payments were made by INX to Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited (Advantage India), with its subsidiary in Singapore (Advantage Singapore).

Agusta-Westland scam

Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's nephew Ratul Puri and his two sons (Nakul Nath and Bakul Nath) have been investigated by the ED in the infamous AgustaWestland VVIP chopper fraud, who have been accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks during the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. In 2017, India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters from Italian defence corporation Finmeccanica for Rs 3,600 crore. According to reports, several middlemen including alleged politicians received bribes when India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters from Italian defence corporation Finmeccanica for Rs 3,600 crore. Nath’s kin have been accused by the ED of having been on the receiving end of these kickbacks. Ratul Puri, Kamal Nath's nephew, reportedly received $1 million from Christian Michel James, a British national and suspected intermediary, during the transaction. Recently, other senior leaders including former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and former Air Vice Marshal Jasbir Singh Panesar have been named by investigating authorities in connection to the case.

Aviation scam

Former finance minister P Chidambaram has also been under the ED’s scanner for another case of money laundering relating the procurement of 111 Europe Airbus and US’ Boing aircraft for Rs 70,000 crore by the Civil Ministery and the Air India-Indian Airlines merger. The case also pertain to the accusations of the UPA government allowing profitable schedules and routes to private airlines, and use of foreign investment to open of training institutes. Others questione by the ED in connection to the case include ormer Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel. The probe is based on an accusing the government purchasing the aircraft at a time when Indian national carriers were bearing huge losses in order to benefit foreign aircraft manufacturers.

Fodder scam

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav by sentenced by a special CBI court in the Rs 139.5 crore Doranda treasury embezzlement case. While the ED is currently investigating the fish fodder scam case, Prasad had earlier been sentenced to 14 years in jail in four other fodder scam cases. The Rs 950-crore scam relates to the fraudulent withdrawal of public funds from government treasuries in various districts of undivided Bihar between 1995-1996. More ED troubles are likely for the ailing RJD supremo as the agency may confiscate assets created by those convicted in the scandal in line with the directions to CBI by a special court. The former Bihar chief minister is currently serving out a five-year prison sentence.

Hawala case

In July this year, the ED filed a charge sheet against AAP leader and Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain. The ED case is based on a 2017 FIR by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI's complaint stated that Jain couldn’t explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder. In April this year, ED had provisionally attached immovable properties belonging to companies allegedly linked to Satyendar Jain and his relatives. The immovable properties of Jain and his relatives were said to be worth Rs 4.81 crore. 

(With inputs from PTI)