ED summons Koda for questioning

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his associates, facing charges of money laundering, have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning on alleged hawala transactions and investments.

Official sources said summons were served to Koda in the hospital in Ranchi where he was admitted following complaints of high blood pressure and stomach ache on Tuesday. Notices were also issued to seven of his associates by the ED, the sources said.

Both the ED and the Income Tax department have started scrutiny of documents recovered during the searches. These documents pertain to alleged hawala transactions and investments running into more than Rs 2,000 crore by Koda and his associates, they said.

While the ED will probe the investments and purchases done outside the country, the IT department would investigate the unaccounted money within the country. Various directorates of the IT department from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nasik, and Jamshedpur have also sent documents seized by them and other evidence to the Investigations (Income Tax) Directorate in Jharkhand.

Koda and eight others have been accused of amassing property worth hundreds of crores of rupees including those in places like UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Liberia.

The ED had earlier filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (equivalent to a FIR) before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Ranchi against Koda, his cabinet colleagues Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bhandu Tirkey besides five others.