Delhi lawyer stashed crores of rupees, picked up by ED

Delhi-based lawyer Rohit Tandon was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday night after his office was raided on December 11 and crores of rupees were found there in both old and new notes. He is being charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and will be produced in court on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kotak Mahindra Bank Manager Ashish Kumar was arrested for allegedly helping Tandon and Kolkata-based businessman Paras Mal Lodha exchange crores of rupees in demonetised notes. Kumar converted Rs 35 crore in demonetised currency into the new notes through demand drafts. He also took Rs 1.5 crore as a commission from Tandon to convert the money, the ED said.

I-T officials had found nearly Rs 14 crore in cash at Tandon’s office on December 11, of which Rs 2 crore was in the new Rs 2,000 notes. On December 22, Lodha was arrested by ED for converting demonetised notes worth Rs 25 crore into new ones. Lodha is said to have links to Shekhar Reddy, who was apprehended on December 21 on similar charges.

The I-T department has conducted several raids across the country since November 8 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were being demonetised.