NEW DELHI: Taking the number of coal scam cases under its investigation to over 40, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered five fresh money laundering cases against firms in various parts of the country.
The latest FIRs have been lodged by the central probe agency against firms based in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, sources said.
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They said the ED took cognizance of existing CBI FIRs against these firms before launching separate cases under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
They agency will now begin issuing summons to executives and owners of these firms to record their statements even as it plans to attach some assets of these firms under anti-money laundering laws, sources said.
The CBI has registered close to four dozen cases under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).
The ED, sources said, had scrutinized a number of documents and financial statements of these firms, after taking them from the CBI, before the latest criminal charges were pressed.
The agency has also questioned former minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao who has been named along with other private parties in one of the coal scam cases. It has also seized assets worth nearly Rs 200 crore as part of these investigations.
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“Some more attachment of assets, including immovable properties and fixed deposits of those individuals and companies named in the ED FIRs, will be done,” sources said.
While the Supreme Court is monitoring the probes of both ED and CBI, the special investigation team (SIT) on black money too is reviewing overall investigations and coordination between the two central agencies in these cases.
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