Mumbai: Just weeks before Maharashtra goes to the Assembly polls, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a case against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar, his nephew and NCP leader, for allegedly laundering money in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam.

The NCP chief said he would have been “surprised” had such action  not been taken against him given the “huge” response he received during his poll campaign in Maharashtra.

The Mumbai police had registered a case in connection with the scam. Sources stated that the ED’s case has come after investigations confirmed the occurrence of money laundering. The ED will now investigate the case based on the investigation conducted by the Mumbai police.

“A case has been filed and the investigation into the roles of the politicians and bank officials will be conducted,” said an ED officer.

The MRA Marg police station had registered a case in connection with the scam following which the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police initiated an investigation. The case named at least 70 persons, including a former MSCB bank chairman and other staffers.

In August, the EOW had formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the scam, with the agency stating they would record the statements of the accused
persons.

A deputy commissioner of police headed the SIT to probe the alleged loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the state exchequer between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2017.

The probe in money trail revealed alleged money laundering, which was reported to the ED, which, in turn, filed a case. The EOW had named leaders from the NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena and a politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

While hearing the case, the court had stated that there was “credible evidence” against them.