A day after the CBI arrested mining baron J Sekhar Reddy on charges of money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate has nabbed Paras M Lodha, a Kolkata-based businessman, in connection with the case.
The agency arrested Lodha “in connection with the conversion of more than Rs 25 crore of old notes to new notes in Sekhar Reddy and Rohit Tandon cases.”
While the Reddy case pertains to Chennai where the Income Tax department has seized unaccounted income of over Rs 142 crore, the Delhi Police and the I-T seized Rs 13.5 crore from Rohit Tandon’s law firm in Delhi.
Lodha was intercepted by ED sleuths at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday, based on a look out circular, while he was reportedly trying to fly out.
He was arrested late on Wednesday in New Delhi after being questioned in the case.
The ED will produce Lodha in a court in New Delhi to obtain his further custody under the provisions of the the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On Wednesday, the I-T Department also conducted raids at the house of ex-chief secretary of Tamil Nadu Rama Mohana Rao in Chennai. According to reports, the I-T raids at Rao’s residence could be linked to the Sekhar Reddy case.
(With inputs from PTI)
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