ADITYA KAUL. NEW DELHI
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday made the first arrest in the scam involving former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, even as the probe unearthed diary-jottings throwing up names prominent politicians.
Investigators, however, say the jottings, attributed to Binod Sinha, close aide of Madhu Koda, is not evidence enough to nail anybody. The diary includes the names a prominent Bihar politician and a former cabinet minister, and a Congress leader.
"It (the jottings) needs to be corroborated. We will examine Binod Sinha," a senior probe official said. Sinha, however, has not responded to the ED summons. The directorate has now issued a look-out notice against him and another accused Sanjay Choudhary.
ED sleuths, meanwhile, have arrested Binod's brother Vikas. They claim there is indisputable evidence against him of making cash transactions on behalf of Binod and Madhu Koda. Binod and Vikas were directors on the board of M/s Shiv Rama Sponge and several other companies.
"Vikas has admitted that he physically carried over Rs40 crore cash to Kolkata to be handed over to one Budh Narayan Gupta, a Koda aide and junior of Koda's chartered accountant SK Naredi," said a senior ED official.
Over ten people have been questioned by the sleuths so far. Koda's CA, Naredi, has reportedly given evidence of about Rs11.80 crore of undisclosed income of Vikas and Binod, besides several other "accommodation entries" to the tune of Rs4.80 crore, of firms that exist only on paper. Naredi has also given proof of Rs 7.34 crore of a total of Rs 17 crore that was spent by Binod to purchase M/s Shiv Ram Sponge, ED sources said.
Vijay Joshi, partner of Vikas and Binod in Shiv Ram Sponge, has revealed that "he got 15 % shares of Emmar Alloys with share capital worth Rs10.70 crore, without paying the application money, which was arranged by Sinha brothers."
"Koda's PA Arun Kumar Srivastava has also stated that Vikas Sinha was working with others to launder the proceeds of the crime," said a senior ED official.
Probe officials, meanwhile, said they would arrest Koda once the process of evidence collection was complete. The former CM, who is suspected to have stashed money in Swiss bank accounts, besides investing in mines and properties abroad, made money through mine leases, electrification deals and transfer postings, sources said.