ED arrests suspended Guj IAS officer in money laundering case

Ahmedabad: A day after the Supreme Court denied anticipatory bail to ‘snoopgate’ fame Pradeep Sharma, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday arrested the suspended Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in connection with a case of money laundering.

It may be recalled that Sharma was first detained in 2009 by the Gujarat police in a corruption case while he was serving as Bhavnagar Municipal Commissioner. Subsequently, a case was registered against him for alleged violation of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2012.

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The ED, in its complaint against Sharma, accused him of selling a government land at a cheaper rate to ‘Welspun Group’ which caused the state exchequer a loss of Rs 1.2 crore. The favour was returned by the corporate group by allegedly making Sharma’s United Stated (US)–based wife a 30 per cent share holder in one of its manufacturing units.

Other highlights:

• According to ED reports, the money that Sharma received was first transferred to his wife’s account.
• It may be mentioned that Sharma was also involved in the infamous ‘snoopgate’ scandal.
• The scandal was linked to a Bangalore–based lady architect who was stalked by the Gujarat police at the behest of Amit Shah, the then junior home minister.

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