Andhra netas come under scanner after note seizure

NEWDELHI: A group of politicians, including some Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Andhra Pradesh, have come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), following seizures of ₹15.75 crore in demonetised notes from a premise near Jhandewalan metro station in the national capital early this week.

The seizures were made by the directorate of revenue intelligence, which took 10 people into custody — mostly businessmen dealing in real estate, jewellery and trading. ED sources told HT the accused pointed the probe agency towards the Andhra politicians, when interrogated.

The agency is likely to take over the probe as preliminary findings point to possible links between the seized cash and MLAs, said agency sources.

“A probe will be undertaken to find out the source of money and also whether it was a case of money-laundering ,” said a senior ED official. Sources said the accused have allegedly told their interrogators that they were mere handlers of the money and the seized cash belonged to several politicians. “These allegations have to be probed further and then only can a case be made out against suspects,” the official added. Under section 7 of the newly-enacted Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017, whoever is found in possession of the defunct notes shall be punished with a fine which may extend to ₹10,000 or five times the amount of the face value of the specified bank notes involved in the contravention, whichever is higher.