Tribunal slams ED for ‘imaginary’ loss

NEWDELHI: A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) tribunal in Delhi has criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for coming up with an “imaginary” and “concocted” figure of ~23.92 crore as the loss in a scheme involving an ambulance service in Rajasthan in which state chief minister Ashok Gehlot, deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, and former Union minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram, were accused in 2015.

The high-profile case was originally registered by the CBI in August 2015 on a reference from then Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje. Naming Gehlot, Pilot, Karti Chidambaram, former state health minister AA Khan alias Duru Miya and a private company, Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd (ZHL) , and its directors, including Ravi Krishna (son of former Union minister Vyalar Ravi), as accused in the FIR, CBI alleged that the state was cheated in the operation of the 108 ambulance service between 2010 and 2013.

Interestingly, the federal investigation agency did not name Gehlot, Pilot and Karti Chidambaram in its charge sheet filed in June 2018 and mentioned that there was a “loss to government” of ~62 lakh.

ED claimed in its charge sheet, filed on July 2018 that the scheme also involved money laundering of ~23.92 crore and attached properties worth ~11.88 crore, including fixed deposits and bank guarantees of ZHL in State Bank of Patiala and Dhanalaxmi Bank. The chairman of PMLA appellate tribunal, justice Manmohan Singh, hearing pleas of SBI and Dhanlaxmi Bank as well as ZHL, seeking that the FDs and bank guarantees be released so that banks could recover dues from the company, said in his judgment on September 12: “The attachment is not sustainable, without application of mind and very harsh. There is no material on record that the banks have any nexus and link with other appellants (referring to ZHL and its directors)”.