By IANS,
Ranchi : Days after former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda was accused of illegally amassing assets worth crores, efforts are on to find out if he made quiet foreign visits and deposited money in Swiss banks, informed sources said Wednesday.
According to the sources, the income tax (IT) department has traced a person who allegedly helped get hundreds of crores of rupees belonging to Koda deposited in a Swiss bank. The name and identity of the person has been withheld in the interest of the investigation.
During interrogation, Koda, now an MP, is learnt to have admitted to making unpublicized trips to foreign countries while he was the mines and geology department minister from March 2005 to September 2006, the sources say.
At that time, Arjun Munda was the chief minister of Jharkhand. In the past he too has accused Koda of making foreign visits without informing him.
According to the sources, Koda had visited Liberia, Bangkok and Dubai without informing Munda. As per protocol, a minister should inform the chief minister if he makes any foreign visit.
The Enforcement Department (ED) has served a notice to Koda in hospital, a day after he was admitted there, summoning him for interrogation. The summons is seen as a move to interrogate Koda about his alleged foreign investments and money sent through hawala.
The IT department and ED Saturday conducted raids at 70 places in eight Indian cities in connection with corruption allegations against Koda and his associates, Vinod Kumar Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary.
The department has allegedly found illegal transaction of Rs.2,500 crore, including Rs.550 crore sent to places like Dubai, Thailand and Malaysia through hawala.
On Oct 9, the Enforcement Directorate lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda and three former ministers as well as his associates Sinha and Chaudhary. Koda has been accused of purchasing mines worth $1.7 million (Rs.8.5 crore) in Liberia in the name of his close associates.
Sinha, who admits to being a close friend of Koda’s, says the allegations against them are politically motivated.