ED Questions Azharuddin In Rs 20 Cr Money Laundering Case

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned former Indian cricket team captain and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association, official sources said.

The federal agency recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The 61-year-old former Member of Parliament was first asked to depose before the agency on October 3 but he sought deferment of the notice and asked for a fresh date. The agency subsequently issued him fresh summons to appear on October 8. Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, Azharuddin reached the ED office on Fateh Maidan Road around 11 am.

He was accompanied by his legal team. The probe is related to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The ED had conducted searches in connection with the irregularities in November last year. Azharuddin’s role during his tenure as the HCA president is under the scanner of the agency, the sources had said.

There was no immediate response from the former Indian skipper, who unsuccessfully contested the Telangana Assembly polls held last year. Following the registration of a case in connection with the alleged irregularities by Telangana Police last year, he had said that the allegations levelled against him were “false” and “motivated” and it was “just a stunt” pulled by his rivals to ruin his reputation. The money laundering case stems from three FIRs and charge sheets filed by the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in connection with alleged criminal misappropriation of funds of the HCA to the tune of

Rs 20 crore.