Sameer Wankhede Appeals to Bombay HC to Quash Money Laundering Charges

In a recent development, Sameer Wankhede, an Indian Revenue Service officer and former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), has approached the Bombay High Court to seek the quashing of a money laundering case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise ship drugs case.

The ED initiated action against Wankhede following a criminal case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), accusing him of allegedly demanding a bribe of ₹25 crore from Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. The alleged bribe was purportedly in exchange for not implicating Khan's son, Aryan Khan, in the cruise ship drugs case.

Advocate Karan Lalit Jain, representing Wankhede, filed the petition seeking the quashing of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the ED. Additionally, Wankhede has requested protection from arrest until the petition undergoes a final hearing. The petition is scheduled to be heard on February 15 by a division bench comprising Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar.

The drug case against Aryan Khan originated from a search-seizure operation conducted on the Mumbai-Goa cruise on October 2, 2021, leading to 20 arrests, including that of Aryan Khan. Subsequently, Aryan Khan was granted bail on October 28, 2021, and was cleared of charges on May 27, 2022. The CBI later registered an FIR against Wankhede, alleging offenses under sections 7 (bribery), 7A (undue advantage to influence a public servant by illegal means), and 12 (abetment) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 388 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code.

Earlier, Wankhede had filed a petition seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR, which is currently pending before the High Court. In May 2023, the High Court granted interim protection to Wankhede, with one of the conditions being that he refrains from publishing any material related to the case via WhatsApp or any other mode.