ED raids Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand in money laundering probe

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided the premises of Delhi Cabinet Minister and AAP leader Raaj Kumar Anand and some others as part of a money laundering probe, official sources said.

A dozen premises, including that of the minister in the Civil Lines area of the national capital, were being searched since 7:30 am, they said. The ED teams are escorted by a team of the CRPF.

The probe against Anand is being undertaken as per provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMlA).

The investigation stems from a charge sheet filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on charges of false declarations in imports for customs evasion of more than Rs 7 crore apart from international hawala transactions, the sources said.

A local court recently took cognisance of the DRI prosecution complaint after which the ED filed a PMLA case against Anand and some others, they said.

Anand, 57, is the minister for social welfare and SC/ST welfare among others in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. He is an MLA from Patel Nagar.