Initiating fresh action in the VVIP chopper deal money laundering case, the ED today conducted searches in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad on at least 10 premises of some “involved” firms and froze shares worth over Rs 86 crore kept by them in foreign shores.
Officials said during the searches, conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency seized many documents and issued orders to freeze shares of certain firms located in Dubai, Mauritius and Singapore.
The agency had recently filed a fresh chargesheet in the case naming British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James as part of its probe.
The ED had registered a PMLA case in this regard in 2014 and named 21 people in its FIR. It had also arrested Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan in the case, who is out on bail now.
