The ED alleged that Tandon furnished at least 72 demand drafts in fictitious names, in connivance with Rajesh Kumar, manager of the Kotak Mahindra Bank, who was also arrested.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the interim bail granted to Delhi-based lawyer Rohit Tandon, who has been accused of money laundering in the aftermath of demonetisation.
On August 10, the Delhi High Court granted Tandon interim bail till September 6. Representing Tandon, former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi sought an extension on the grounds that he had filed an appeal for regular bail in the apex court to look after his ailing mother.
"No. You (Tandon) have to surrender," the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, AM Khanwailkar and DY Chandrachud said. The top court also sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate on the issue of his regular bail and asked the agency to file a response within two weeks.
Tandon's plea for regular bail before the high court and trial court was denied. The trial court had denied bail on the grounds that he was allegedly involved in a "white collar crime" with other accused in a "well-planned" manner.
In the aftermath of demonetization, Tandon was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last December for possessing money in the banned currency. The ED had further alleged that the Rs 13.53 crore seized from Tandon belonged to various high-profile individuals and that the Delhi-based lawyer was helping them launder their black money.
The ED alleged that Tandon furnished at least 72 demand drafts in fictitious names, in connivance with Rajesh Kumar, manager of the Kotak Mahindra Bank, who was also arrested.
The sleuths said Kumar and Tandon would cancel the DDs once there was sufficient currency in the bank. For this, Kumar allegedly received a commission of up to 35 per cent.
According to ED sleuths, Tandon could not have accumulated so much money in a short span of time, and that he was, allegedly, laundering money for high-profile individuals. "It is suspected that the accused is in knowledge of names, details, and identities of such persons who might have laundered their proceeds of crime through him (Tandon)," the ED had said during the remand hearing last December.
The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police and the Income-Tax (I-T) department have alleged that Tandon's arrest has exposed a coterie of lawyers, high-profile arms dealers, and middlemen. Tandon's office, Tandon and Tandon (T&T) law firm, was raided by officials on the night of December 10.
Crime Branch officers said Tandon has links with prominent arms dealer Abhishek Verma (currently out on bail), and senior lawyer Gautam Khaitan (arrested in the AgustaWestland scam). "This raid is linked to the one conducted on October 6. I-T officials had then recorded the statements of associates and staffers at T&T's Greater Kailash-1 office, after which unaccounted Rs 125 crore was disclosed. The tax department has evidence of Tandon's investments in properties through shell companies," sources said.
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