In what could tighten the noose around Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested lIC agent Anand Chauhan who is alleged to have laundered the former’s tainted cash. This is the first arrest in the ongoing case so far.
Both Singh and Chauhan are accused in a case under Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA). Chauhan’s custodial interrogation is likely to further unravel the nexus between them and the modus operandi of illicit investments made by the agent on behalf of the CM.
Chauhan was arrested from Chandigarh under the provisions of PMlA as he was not cooperating with the investigating officer of the case, officials said, adding his custodial interrogation is necessary. He will produced before a designated court on Sunday.
The lIC agent is a crucial figure in this case as both the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI have earlier found that Chauhan was the one who allegedly invested the tainted funds of the CM in life insurance policies.
The ED had earlier questioned him a number of times in connection with the probe of this case. The agency has also attached assets worth about `8 crore of the Chief Minister earlier this year. The agency has filed a case under criminal provisions of money laundering laws after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR in this connection in September last year.
ED had also conducted searches in this case last year in three States of Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
The agency is probing the allegation that Singh and his family members allegedly amassed wealth of `6.1 crore between 2009 and 2011, disproportionate to his known sources of income, while serving as the Union Minister of Steel.
The CBI FIR had named Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, Chauhan and his brother Cl Chauhan and they were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
CBI suspects that during the 2009-11 period, Singh allegedly invested `6.1 crore in life insurance policies in his and his family members’ names through Chauhan claiming this money to be his agricultural income.
It alleged that Singh attempted to legitimise the same as agricultural income by filing revised Income-Tax returns in 2012.