Ahmed Patel claimed that the Directorate of Execution did not answer his question
New Delhi:
Faced with an investigation by the Law enforcement branch into a money laundering case, Congress chief Ahmed Patel said the investigative agency did not answer his question about who, in the government of Gujarat, had granted advantages, privileges and honors to the Sandesara group, for which he is questioned.
Mr. Patel stated that he had answered 128 questions asked by the Directorate of Execution (ED) and thanked the agency for having visited him three times in connection with the money laundering case of Sandesara.
“Thank you, ED officials, for coming to my house three times,” he said.
“I answered each of their 128 questions, but they did not answer my only basic question: who, in the government of the state of Gujarat, was responsible for granting multiple benefits, privileges and honors to the Sandesara group, “Ahmed Patel wrote on Twitter.
Congress Secretary General Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke with the support of Ahmed Patel and said that sending the emergency to harass the party leader amid the COVID-19 pandemic shows the ” perversion “of the priorities of this government.
“Thousands of people are dying, our health workers are in desperate need of support, the economy is facing an unprecedented crisis, the Chinese are entering our territory, our soldiers are being killed, and that is what the government is busy spending time, “she said. in a tweet.
“They say that the crisis is revealing the true nature of people, it seems that the saying also applies to governments,” wrote Priyanka Gandhi.
ED investigators interviewed Ahmed Patel at his home for about 10 hours Thursday during the third round of his fence as part of the investigation into the Sandesara brothers’ case of bank fraud and money laundering.
“It is political vendetta and harassment against me and my family and I do not know under the pressure of which they (the investigators) work,” said Ahmed Patel after his interrogation.
The investigative agency had previously interviewed the 70-year-old senior congressional official in two separate sessions, totaling around 5 p.m. on June 27 and 30.
He was allowed to be questioned at home by the agency after Congressman Rajya Sabha from Gujarat refused to go to the emergency room, citing existing COVID-19 guidelines that discourage older people from going out.
According to officials, Ahmed Patel’s statement is registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Law (PMLA).
He is questioned about his alleged links with the Sandesara brothers, the promoters of the pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech based in Vadodara, and the relations of his family members with them.
The agency last year interviewed Ahmed Patel Faisal’s son and son-in-law Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui about the case and recorded their statements.
The Sandesaras are also facing separate investigations by the CBI and the income tax department for their alleged connection to high-level politicians and charges of corruption and tax evasion respectively.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
