Enforcement Directorate on Friday obtained court's permission to record suspended Mumbai Police Officer Sachin Waze's statement in ED case against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh at Taloja prison tomorrow. The ED has been allowed to question Waze for three days at Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai where he is lodged, a defence lawyer said.
Sachin Waze was arrested in connection with the case of an explosives-laden vehicle found near Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's house and Mansukh Hiren death case, has been dismissed from service.
A special PMLA court on Tuesday sent Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde, aides of Deshmukh, to judicial custody till July 20 in a money laundering case. The case revolves around the transfer posting racket and collection from bar owners.
ED had earlier informed the court that various bar owners were called by the agency for a statement and they had categorically said that they paid Rs 40 lakh to Sachin Waze as Good luck Money in December 2020 when Waze was Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) head.
ED had told the court that the bar owners paid Rs 1.64 crore and Rs 2.66 crore to Mumbai Police's Zone 1 to 7 and Zone 8 to 12.
"Sachin Waze told bar owners that money will go to so and so. Sachin Waze has also accepted that he has collected Rs 4.77 crore between December 2020 and February 2021 and handed over the money to Kundan Shinde. Two police officers statement were recorded and they said that Palande was also given money. Sachin Waze also verified this statement of police officers about Palande," ED's lawyer had told the court.
The case against the former Home Minister was registered on May 11.