The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday questioned senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel at his residence in Delhi in connection with the Sandesara brothers money laundering case, officials said.

A three-member ED team reached Patel’s home at 23, Mother Teresa Crescent in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone here around 11.30 am. The team members were seen wearing masks and gloves as a precautionary measures against Covid-19 pandemic.

“Modi Ji aur Amit Shah ji ke mehmaan aaye the... They came, asked me questions, I replied and they left, “Ahmed Patel said.

The agency recorded Patel’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and his purported links with Rs 14,500 crore bank loan fraud by the Vadodara-based pharma firm Sterling Biotech and its main promoters Sandesara brothers.

The ED had summoned Patel, 70, twice for questioning in the case but the Congress Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat cited his inability to appear due to the Covid-19 guidelines that advises senior citizens to stay indoors.

The money laundering case under probe relates to the alleged Rs 14,500 crore bank loan fraud by the Vadodara-based pharma firm Sterling Biotech and its main promoters — Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Deepti Sandesara. They are part of a family and absconding till date.

The Sandesaras are also facing separate probes by the CBI and the Income Tax Department for their alleged nexus with some high-profile politicians and charges of corruption and tax evasion, respectively.

The ED registered a criminal case to probe the money laundering angle in the case.

Last year, the agency had questioned Patel’s son Faisal and son-in-law Irfan Siddiqui in this case and recorded their statements.