Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 28
Accusing senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram of playing a “victim card” to avoid arrest in the money-laundering case in connection with the INX Media scam, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday asserted in the Supreme Court that there was no witch-hunt.
“A ghost is sought to be created by playing the victim card…This is not a witch-hunt as alleged by them. We have material to show that it is a serious case of money laundering. We have collected cogent materials in the case,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench headed by Justice R Banumathi, adding money laundering in this matter was going on even now.
“A victim card is sought to be played. They are saying humiliation. It is not. It is prevention, prevention and prevention with capital P. I am serious about this,” Mehta said, adding the agency was dealing with an “intelligent person” since a “stupid man” cannot commit laundering of layers and layers of money and this offence was not committed at the heat of moment.
“It is a well-crafted and well-thought-of offence, meaning thereby it become very difficult to unravel how money is laundered,” he said, pointing out that evidence vanishes within minutes a chargesheet is filed in the court.
Maintaining that it was a “serious case of money laundering”, Mehta said the agency has collected “cogent material” warranting custodial interrogation of Chidambaram -- currently in CBI’s custody in a corruption case arising out of the same scam.
Mehta said the ED can’t share “sensitive material” collected during the probe with Chidambaram at this stage. “We will put it to accused during custodial interrogation. We do not arrest an accused to have a cup of tea with him,” he said.
Responding to Chidambaram’s challenge to the ED to prove he had bank accounts and assets abroad, Mehta said the ED has received “specific inputs and specific details” from foreign countries and banks about properties abroad, house number, companies and persons who own them.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Chidambaram, said they never argued that they wanted access to the material collected by the ED. “We have only said that you (ED) should put it (materials) to the accused and question him on it,” Sibal said, adding, “Without confronting the accused with this, they cannot put the material in the court in a sealed cover.”
The Bench -- which extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Chidambaram in the money-laundering case for yet another day – will hear further arguments from Mehta on Thursday.
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