The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering case related to the now-bankrupt Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS). Patil, who is the Maharashtra unit president of the NCP, has been asked to present himself before the probe agency for questioning.
This action comes after the ED conducted searches against two former auditors of IL&FS – BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells – and some employees of the two auditors were also questioned by the officials during the searches. The probe agency has alleged financial irregularities at IL&FS and that the senior management of IL&FS was a party to acts of commissions and omissions, leading to illegal personal gains to them at the expense of the company.
The money laundering investigation into alleged financial irregularities at IL&FS was launched by the ED in 2019, after taking cognizance of a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing against a group of companies of IL&FS.
IL&FS, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018, was a major infrastructure development and finance company in India. Its collapse led to a crisis in the country’s financial markets, with several banks and other financial institutions facing significant losses.
In addition to Patil, the probe agency earlier questioned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in the case of a loan given to Kohinoor Construction, the firm that is developing the Kohinoor Square tower in Mumbai’s Dadar.
The summons to the NCP leader comes after the Supreme Court set aside a verdict of the Bombay High Court that had quashed a probe against the two audit firms. The investigation into IL&FS has been ongoing for several years, with the ED and other agencies looking into the alleged financial irregularities at the company.
The case highlights the need for greater accountability and transparency in the financial sector, with companies and individuals alike needing to be held responsible for their actions. The collapse of IL&FS had far-reaching consequences, and those responsible for its downfall must be brought to justice.