The enforcement directorate (ED), which had sent a special team to Switzerland, has found bank accounts registered in the names of former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda’s associates.
Nearly Rs800 crore of Indian taxpayers’ money, allegedly plundered by former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and company, is believed to have found its way to accounts in Swiss banks.
The enforcement directorate (ED), which had sent a special team to Switzerland, has found bank accounts registered in the names of Koda’s associates, including some local politicians, bureaucrats and key middlemen, sources close to the investigations said. But none of the accounts is in Koda’s name.
Till now, these accounts and their size was a matter of speculation. The ED team has found that the money was parked in eight to nine such accounts, the sources said.
Switzerland is not the only country that has seen quiet visits from Indian probe agencies after the scam was unearthed.
ED teams have gathered crucial evidence from other tax havens, including the Bahamas and the Cayman islands. A special team has also been despatched to the north African country of Liberia, where Koda is alleged to have purchased mines worth $17 lakh.
Considering the politically sensitive nature and the sheer magnitude of the alleged embezzlement, the enforcement directorate has formed a special unit to probe the case. The unit is single-mindedly unravelling the business empire Koda allegedly established first as a minister and then as the chief minister of Jharkhand.
Top officials connected with the case indicate that the ED is no hurry to arrest Koda. The former chief minister, who has been accused of embezzling and laundering nearly Rs4,000 crore, has so far taken a defiant stand, failing to appear for questioning despite summons being issued against him twice, including on November 19.
“We are building a very strong case against him and his associates. Lot of evidence has already been gathered from some foreign countries besides the documents, evidence and confessions that we already have. When we will finally arrest him, he won’t be able to get bail,” said a senior finance ministry official attached with the probe.
Meanwhile, a Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Ranchi issued an arrest warrant against key Koda associate Boinod Sinha, who has been evading questioning and, like the former Jharkhand chief minister, has failed to appear before the ED despite repeated summons. Sinha was the one who allegedly coordinated money deals on behalf of Koda.
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