Rohit Tandon PMLA case: ED arrests businessman

The ED today made its third arrest, a businessman, in connection with its money laundering probe involving controversial Delhi-based lawyer Rohit Tandon and others in a case of alleged illegal conversion of old notes worth Rs 34 crore.
Officials said the businessman, Raj Kumar Goel, was placed under arrest by the agency after producing the relevant documents in court as Goel was already in custody after the Delhi police had first arrested him.
Goel was sent to three days Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED, they said, suspects Goel had allegedly floated "shell firms" to illegally route cash deposits and launder them in connivance with a bank Manager Ashish Kumar, who has already been arrested by the agency in this case.

The agency, they added, wants to undertake custodial interrogation of Goel with other accused like Kumar and Tandon as he is also allegedly suspected to be the "courier" of black money or illegal cash.
The ED prosecutor, in the court today, alleged that money was collected, transported, deposited and drafts were made on instructions of Tandon, who is in Tihar Jail in the same case, acting through a chain of persons including Dinesh Bhola and chartered accountant Kamal Jain.

He also told the court that Goel's statement was recorded under PMLA on January 6, in which he has revealed his role in the conspiracy and in laundering the proceeds of crime through bank accounts of his companies.

"Money to the tune of Rs 38 crore, claimed to be owned by Tandon, was deposited in the bank accounts of companies pertaining to accused Goel in the demonetised currency, which did not belong to Goel," the prosecutor said.
Tandon's case pertains to an operation of Delhi Police's Crime Branch and the Income Tax department in December last year when the agencies had seized Rs 13.6 crore, of which Rs 2.6 crore was in new currency, allegedly from a law firm here that he is associated with.
The ED had booked a PMLA case against him based on the police FIR.

Two cases involving Tandon and Chennai-based sand mining contractor Sekhar Reddy are being probed by at least four lead agencies of the country including the ED, I-T department, CBI and Delhi Police.
The Reddy case pertains to Chennai where the Income Tax department has made the biggest detection of unaccounted income of over Rs 142 crore.